Electric Blue
by Luxuria De'Voire
Summary: The characters of Final Fantasy XIII surfin' it up at north shore, O'ahu. We got some serious summer lovin' going down at the beach, but can these massive waves be tamed? An actual serious storyline LightxCloudS. SnowxSerah -Rated for a bit of language
1. Chapter 1

Why hello there fellow readers! I know what you're thinking, surfing plus the cast of Final Fantasy XIII, along with crazy summer flings and all that lovin'. Not to mention Cloud Strife as a cameo :D, along with free drinks and a nutella sandwich I have prepared personally! (scratch that last part). What could possibly go wrong? The only way to find out:

Read on, my pretties! Read on!

_This story is very loosely based on the film Blue Crush, and will not feature any of the characters or themes from the film. I am also not posting this as a crossover, mainly because the fanfic is 99% XIII, with the remaining 1% being Cloud Strife. Enjoy!_

**I do not own Final Fantasy XIII, Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, or Blue Crush**

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><p><em>Chapter I: Double Overhead<em>

"_Hey there surfer, if you're looking for a good day to catch some rockin pipes, this'll be your day. We've got some big ones out there, and the sky's looking to be a fine blue, so get your boards out there and catch some wicked surf—"_

The click on the phone beeped off as the hand holding it released its grip and placed the receiver back on the fat line it relaxed on. Stretching her arms behind her head, the tan raven-haired woman walked groggily through the sea-shack that was her home towards the doorless opening that led out to the beach.

Stepping onto the back porch, she glided down the broken steps to the border of trees that acted like a fence before the sands of the beach, rubbing her eyes profusely. She grabbed a plank of wood boarded to a tall leaning palm tree, and then grabbed the next, stepping up the boarded staircase to the tree. Hanging on a nail hammered to the slick bark, a pair of binoculars hung casually on a piece of thread, soon finding themselves in the hands of the tired woman. She gazed through the binocular lenses halfheartedly, never spotting a single good wave on the coast, let alone any waves at all,

"Of course the damn Wave Guru wakes me up at three in the morning to tell me there's some _wicked waves out there_. 'Good waves' my ass." She put the binoculars back on their hanger, but remained on the plank steps a bit as she watched the small and simple waves roll in,

"Maybe the Break's got some surf…" she pulled out her cell phone and began to dial a number lazily, her beautiful highlighted dark hair blowing lightly in the coast's breeze.

XXX

_riiiinnngg-riiiiinnngg._

The sound of a male groan erupted from under a strange tarp on the sandy beach as it began to move like an animal. A click emitted from the covering as a voice replied into the cell phone,

"Damn woman, do you even know what time it is?" the man threw the tarp off of him as he poked his blazing hair carefully, making sure not to mess up the strange mohawk.

"What's the status?" the woman on the other line completely ignored his remark and replied bluntly.

Popping his back and shoulders as his dark chestnut skin flexed marvelously, the tired surfer slowly got to his feet as he finally opened his groggy eyes. And suddenly, they got wide,

"Holy sh—urf," the man corrected before he cursed.

"What?"

"You better get down here, Fang."

"What?" the woman became irritated with the vague answer she was hoping to receive.

The man couldn't get over what he was witnessing. Perfect pipe was so rare nowadays. The wave rose up like a dark blue beast, curling downward towards the water's surface, and landing with a crash grumbling into the coast like a feral behemoth.

"It's perfect pipe. Double edge." A silence laid between them before the voice on the other line replied

"Thanks G-man." Fang said with an almost disbelief tone, still trying to grasp the fact that it was perfect conditioning for the surf.

She closed her phone as she gazed off into the blue horizon, the small measly waves washing up on the shore as a grin spread across her face.

With a raspy breath, she took a great leap into the sand below her as she headed back into the house with a quick and purposeful step.

Entering the only bedroom in the house-shack, Fang walked up to the one occupied bed against the wall, throwing her hands on the back of a sleeping red-head,

"Hey, 'Nil." A groan was her only answer as she shook the girl's shoulders lightly.

Rolling her eyes, she leaned down to whisper into the girl's ear,

"It's perfect pipe."

Not a second later as Fang had already walked out of the room, a head of messy hair sprung up from the dented pillow, a 'would have been excited if she wasn't still half asleep' face appeared on the younger woman's face,

"What—"

XXX

_**Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley_

The sun finally began to rise on the waves of the Pacific Ocean, but the blue haze was still settled down like the sands. Fang gave the gas pedal a push as Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley blasted from the speakers of the car as the two girls drove at a soaring speed down the vacant, winding road, the boards on top seeming to almost fly off completely on every turn. The tropical trees and mountains in the distance on the driving side flew by in a beautiful blur as the car sped down the road, soon reaching its destination.

The car skidded to a halt in front of a nice beach-front house similar to the girls' own seaside shack. The red-head sitting in the passenger seat stuck her whole body out of the car window as she cupped her mouth,

"Hey sleepy-heads! Lebreau! Get your boards up, we're heading down to the surf!" she grinned widely as she shouted at the sleeping house.

The woven door of the shack opened with a loud creak as a girl in purple underwear and a frilly bra walked angrily, yet groggily towards the parked car,

"Do you all even know what time it is? I've got a killer headache, and I haven't had a hangover this bad since Gadot's last Rock Bash, and—" the black haired, mostly naked girl droned off as she stared confusedly at the red-head, who was happily smiling like a maniac directly at the puzzled woman. The girl's mouth hung open as she turned her head to look at Fang in the driver's seat,

"Why's she looking at me like that?"

Fang smirked with her eyes half closed, turning her head in a pivoting motion to look at the unembarrassed girl,

"We got Double Edge."

Silence hushed the three girls for almost a minute, each wearing a crazy expression, save Fang.

With her mouth still hung open, and her eye twitching profusely, Lebreau held her pose casually. She coughed intentionally and turned slowly back towards the house, taking a deep breath as she closed the door behind her,

"MAQUI! YUJ!" from that point on everything was chaos, screams and cries coming from within the open-aired shack, including rustling and shattering of who knows what.

Fang looked towards the ocean with a small grin, her bones ached to surf on those ripping curls. She turned her attention back to the car as she twisted the keys and heard the engine roar to life. The bellow of the car reminding her of the sound of the crashing waves in the near distance.

XXX

With a quick jerk of the keys, the car's engine died down, but the roar of the ocean waves still sounded in the air. The thud of car doors closing emitted from the parking lot as small groups of people grabbed their boards and headed towards the water, Fang's gang following in suit. They grabbed their respectable tankers, and the girls began to strip of their 'land' clothing into their colorful bikinis.

As they got their stuff together, two male surfers made their way towards the group of five,

"Girl, I was wondering when you'd get here." The muscular, dark skinned man bellowed as he put his elbow on the paint-scraped car.

The others ignored him with smiles, and so did Fang, but she went to the trouble to at least reply,

"Easy, Gadot, I had to pick up the kids." Fang threw her shirt back into the car, revealing a black tinted bikini top.

"Hey!" the three surfers, Maqui, Yuj, and Lebreau cried in perfect sync. Vanille giggled as she grabbed her yellow board.

Another large giant followed up from behind Gadot, a black beanie worn on top of his blonde-haired head. His gorgeous smile swooned most girls, but being oblivious to flirtatious behavior pushed dating from his schedule, which didn't help keep the beach babes away,

"Fang, Vanille! Didn't know you barreled down here." He grinned at both girls, giving a high five to Maqui, the young sixteen year old shoving his darker board under his arm.

Vanille rested her arms on the car's chipped hood as she smiled back at the gentle giant,

"Nah, but who wouldn't want to with this killer surf?" Everyone turned their heads to see a massive wave break into the coast, a surfer unfortunately going down with the wave. The group gasped and 'oooh-ed' as they watched with pain, but things like that happened all the time, so their worry washed away without a sweat.

"You still up for walking through the backdoor?" Gadot chimed in as he glanced over at the two Aussies, using 'walking through the backdoor' as an alternate term for pipe surf.

The girls let out their held breaths with ambiguous faces, but Fang turned to the man with a confident smirk,

"Dude, I eat waves for breakfast. I can take this shit." Her accented voice was edged in toughness, following with the woman putting her hands on her hips with a sassy hair flip.

"Alright. Let's see what you can do, ozzie girl—" the flaming-haired man said deeply in a playfully manner as he and the woman began to stride down to the beach, the tan female wrestling with him humorously.

The blonde broskie watched the two with a laugh, not prepared for a yellow 'gun' board to be flung into his muscular arms as he caught it clumsily,

"You just gonna sit there like a buoy, or you headin to the surf?" the crimson-pink haired eighteen year old stared up at him with a sweet grin, her beautiful green eyes gleaming in the sunless air. Her green and pink bikini top cutely decorating her beautiful light skin.

The guy gave a fake punch to Vanille's shoulder as she laughed, stealing her board back from him as she headed off with the rest of the group who had already made their way down to the front coast.

Grabbing his own board, a darker gun with blue teeth-stripes decorating it, the surfer gaited across the sandy beach and towards the shoreline. A gregarious smile was painted on the rugged blonde's face as the seven surfers jogged to the blue ocean.

XXX

_Earlier that morning_

The navy blue mist of the ocean hovered aimlessly in the pretty, yet simple beach house, as it entered through the doorless entryway. The lack of sunlight made it much easier for the pink-haired girl to sleep in bed. Her beautiful face was tucked away in the many sheets that covered the mattress, and her crystal blue eyes remained shut in a serene slumber, deep in a locking sleep.

A small creak emanated from the wooden boards on the floor outside the room, the door to the girl's room left open for air and for hearing people trying to sneak out. Setting her dainty foot down on the boards again, a smaller girl with similar hair attempted to creep her way past the door to her sister's room. A painful look appearing on her face with every creak, but as she peaked her head into the open room her sister was still sound asleep curled into a ball. With a sigh of relief, she set continued her trek across the hallway before a stern and dangerously low voice called out,

"Serah."

The girl twitched in fear as she pouted before turning to her older sister, who still remained in bed,

"Y-Yeah?" she squeaked.

"Where are you going?" her emotionless tone made Serah worry, but in a calm attempt she replied with a stronger voice.

"To the Break. It's supposed to be perfect pipe."

Silence fell upon the two siblings as Serah waited patiently for a reply, be it good or bad. She continued to curse in her head as she looked down at the floor with a pungent expression, her ice blue eyes filled with doubt. A sigh escaped the older sister's mouth,

"Be back in time for dinner."

First, a surprised look overcame the younger girl, but it was quickly replaced with a gleeful smile as she spoke with a soft voice.

"Thanks, sis."

A stray hand lifted from under the covers as it waved in a tired manner, spurring another grin from the pink-haired girl, who was now making her way towards the back door.

Jumping over the steps that lead down from her house, she quickly threw her hair into a side ponytail, swung a nice canon camera over her shoulder, and jumped onto her bike, quickly pedaling down the road to the nearby shore.

XXX

_**Cruel Summer by Blestenation_

_**Jetstream by Doves_

A wave splashed harshly in the rugged blonde's face, but the surfer quickly brushed the pain off as he continued to paddle out towards the wave break. There were tons of surfers around them, but most were newbies to this beach, so the main gangs still had their own waves blocked by their friends.

A giant hollow wave began to rise in front of him with a menacing growl, but the blonde man quickly duck dived under the monster as it rolled him down his back. Resurfacing with a raspy inhale of breath, the brosky shook his head and hair, surprised that his beanie hadn't fallen off yet.

"Hey Snow, waves too rough for ya'?" the darker woman turned around on her board to shout at him, the tattoo on her arm rippling on her muscle.

"Not a chance—" just as he replied, another wave smacked his face causing Fang to laugh.

He shook it off as he finally reached the wave point where a ton of surfers were wading on the surface, each waiting for a wave to snag. Taking this pause in wave activity to his advantage, Snow caught his breath as he began to chat with the other surfers around him. He gazed out towards the horizon as the sun began to rise over the waves, creating an orange atmosphere to set it. He didn't even notice another wave had come.

The roll of water beneath the surfaces began to rise ahead of them into a huge barrel, and Fang shouted with all her might after the wave,

"You got it, Vanille!" multiple whoops and cheers echoed from all around as the sole surfer girl paddled her way up the wave. Then, like a feather from a bird, she dropped onto the wave's current, and made her way down the pipe in a diagonal line. She stuck her left hand out as she grasped the left-hand wave smoothly, the water above her beginning to form a funnel. Shouts from the beach resonated as the girl surfed the beautiful wave, a smile of total bliss taking over her face. Every other sound was blocked out as she rode the wave, the crashing water the only echo in her ears.

On the beach front, a camera flashed capturing a beautiful snapshot of the wave and its rider. Serah lowered the camera from her eyes as she watched the wave in awe,

"What a wave…" then the crash of the falling beast roared against the beach, the surfer making her way out of the tunnel just in time. Her ice blue eyes sparkled in the burgundy sunlight before they were covered up by the camera again to snap some more shots.

After watching his friends and other surfers go a few times, Snow had a grin growing on his face before Gadot knocked it off of him with a huge smack to the back. Turning to his friend with a smirk, Snow rocked the flaming mohawk's board,

"Hey man, that was some sweet barreling out there!" Snow said with a booming voice, but Gadot quickly waved off the compliment before raising his hand behind him.

"Come on boss, you need to get in there. Look, we'll block this next one for you." He turned to point at a hill of water coming in a few hundred feet away.

With a quick 'thanks', Snow grinned even wider and gave the darker surfer a high-five shake. They both began to paddle out to open sea with a few others joining in from Gadot's loud whistle. He turned to the strangers and newbies outside of their group and shouted with a deep-toned voice,

"Alright guys, the boss-man here wants this here wave, so don't let me catch any of you snakin' it, ya'?" the other surfers relaxed on their boards, obviously not going to steal the wave from Snow.

As the behemoth approached, the group of guys including Snow and Gadot turned full 180's as they paddled like mad away from the wave. Whoops and cheers roared from the gang, as Fang and Vanille watched with humorous faces. Breaking off quickly, the boys left Snow alone to catch the wave for himself, and Gadot slowed to a stop as he felt the wave rumble under him.

The wave caught up to the muscular surfer as he paddled with incredible strength, but as soon as the wave broke the blonde quickly leaned up onto his board to ride the wave. He turned right immediately as the water formed into a right-hander, where the surfer's right hand gripped the inside of the wave, and zoomed down the wall of water in a bumpy ride. Finally finding a balance point, Snow leaned down a bit as the funnel began to form around him, as did a smile on his face.

Distracted by two taps on her shoulder, Serah turned around to see two random people smiling at her,

"Hey! Can you take a picture of us?" the two girls grinned crazily as Serah fumbled out a response.

"Uh, sure. Why not?" she grinned softly as she waited for the girls to stand on the beach in front of the surfer riding the pipe wave patiently.

As the two posed, Serah quickly snapped a photo of the two before her eyes slowly widened. The camera leisurely lowered itself from her eyes as the young eighteen year old watched the wave in awe. The blonde surfer running the barrel so smoothly, as if he were hovering above the water; her mouth gaped open as the camera in her lowered hands made a snapping noise as she accidentally clicked the capture button.

Snow continued to surf on the water with a grin on his face before turning his head to the left to see someone take a picture of him. He made a bigger smile before actually recognizing who it was that took the picture of him. As he focused in on the camera, he followed the delicate hands holding it up to the face of its beholder. His eyes found themselves locked as his entire body relaxed at the sight of the pink-haired girl, her cute skirt ruffling in the wind with her crystal blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

He felt locked in a trance as he stared at the girl before he felt a knock on his board causing him to jerk back in response. Quickly looking down at his board, which was being struck by stray water, he regained his footing on the gun before falling back into the wave, swiftly exiting the pipe and out onto the sand bar.

After standing up and jogging as best he could out of the shallow drop, Snow made his way onto the beach with a smile, the board under his arm. Serah turned to see him approach her with a grin, but a large blush crept up her cheeks as she realized just how muscular he was up close. Wiping the wet fair hair out of his eyes, the burly giant managed to spit out a few words… word,

"Hey."

"H-Hi."

Both stood in silence for a minute before Snow intervened with a quick cough,

"So, um, you a photographer?" was his best attempt.

"You a surfer?" she said with a smirk, the sass in her tone easing Snow's nervousness.

"Ha, yeah, it's just for fun really. You surf?" He smiled sweetly at her as the girls from before squealed annoyingly before running off.

"Y-yeah, just a little." She stuttered as she heard the rumble of an incoming wave.

"That's cool! So, do you wanna come catch some pipe? I got some friends that'll block for you, and they're good with strangers, so don't worry bout' being the newcomer." His charming smile was incredibly tempting, but the young girl tried her hardest to resist the enticement—

"Oh no, I mean, I'd love to, but I just moved here and I don't have any boards." _Yes! Target avoided—_

"No worries, I got another gun if you don't mind the style." _Crap…_

"O-oh." Serah tried her hardest to come up with another excuse, but nothing was coming to mind.

"So, you up for it?"

Serah glanced behind the blonde to watch a massive thirty-footer roar from the ocean and crash into the lava rocks beneath the water's surface. At least ten surfers went down with the beast, along with a guy straggling his way out of the water with a bloodied scar across his face.

Serah gulped before turning back to the attractive surfer,

"A-alright."

With a whooping cheer, Snow began to head over to his car to get the extra board leaving a petrified Serah Farron to stare profusely at the monstrous waves causing her mind to fill with worry and fear. She slowly removed her clothes to reveal a cute bikini, but her thoughts were roaring like the waves crashing into the shore,

_Graaah! Why'd the guy have to be such a charmer! I never should have come here. Now I have to surf the hardest waves in the world, when I haven't even surfed a single day in my entire life! I mean, it can't be that hard right? Float on water, get on board, ride wave without falling into water with sharp rocks. Maaaan, what have I gotten myself into—_

Her thoughts were cut off as the blonde surfer ran up to her with another board,

"You ready?" his smile brightened the whole world up, but Serah was still stuck in the small pit of darkness.

"Hahahahahaaaaa, you kidding? I was born ready!" she laughed crazily as she grabbed the board with shaking hands from the confused twenty-one year old.

He watched her as she made her way down to the water on wobbly knees, still laughing like a maniac as people began to stare at her. A huge grin played on his face as he followed behind her,

"Man, the confidence is glowing from her! She's one serious pro."

Serah stopped at the edge of the water as she looked into it with a grimace. Taking a deep breath, the young girl continued into the blue abyss before the water swashed up against her hips. Snow began to paddle towards the group of floating surfers as he directed her with a wave of the hand,

"You okay back there?"

Serah set the board down in the water and slowly set herself on top, almost falling over a good ten times,

"Y-Yeah! We're good! We are sooooo not good…" she mumbled the last part before reaching her arms into the water to paddle, but for some reason the surfboard wouldn't move. She began to flail her arms wildly in the water as she continued to whine in place, before a hand lifted the entire board with her on it.

Serah almost screamed as she was raised into the air by Snow's muscular arm, who was smirking with a sympathetic grin,

"You were on the sandbar."

Serah propped her head on to her open palm as she stared at the broskie with an unamused face,

"I know."

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><p>So! There's the first chapter of this crazy fic! I hope you all enjoyed it, and if so, I hope you keep reading :3<p>

Also, there will be quite a bit of surfer lingo, so if you ever have a question leave it in a review, and I will post the Q&A on the next chapter! I have also put in a fansoundtrack in the midst of the chapters, so if you wanna get in the mood, feel free to listen, but if YOU have a suggestion as a good song to listen to, leave it in a review or pm me as well :)

With relationships of the characters, I must assure you that I don't plan to make it a "a love at first sight" kind of deal. More of a "crush at first sight" ;D. There will be relationship build-up...and some FLUFF x3

Until next time... :3


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! Hello! Sorry for the wait, but I had a lots-a-stuff goin' on, but here it is! Chapter 2!

Before I start, I'm just going to clarify a few things: In real life North Shore, Oahu, the summer waves are pathetic with the tallest being up to your waist if your lucky. Pipe and head-high waves are more common in the winter months, which is when the North Shore competition is. For the sake of this fanfic, I am going to have the summer months possess rocking pipe waves as seen in this chapter. It wouldn't been any fun with lil' baby waves now would it :D? Just lettin' you all know :3

NOW MY SHOUTBOX! HENCE TEH SHOUTING :D

- A BIG shout to DevilSilke and DublDagrKLL110 for adding this crazy story to their favorites!

- ANOTHER BIG shout to Erifrats101 and Penguins Are Teh POWER for adding the story to their alert list!

- A MEGAHUGE shout-out to XxOerbaDiaVanillexX and Tear of Light for reviewing AND adding my story to their favorite's list (plus one alert list)! thank you so much! :DDDDD

- And a lovely shout-out to EleanorLavish for your wonderful review! It honestly brightened my day :D

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! You all make me so happeh~ TTATT

All right! Let's get this surfin' started! Lame title is lame :P

**I do not own Final Fantasy XIII, Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, or Blue Crush**

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><p><em>Chapter II: The Wave's Outta the Bag<em>

_ **Rockstar (Jason Nevins Remix) by N.E.R.D._

The waves roared behind them as they finally reached the lineup with the other surfers, but Serah still looked back at the enormous wave crashing behind her. Following the bellow of its fall, a large line of water sprayed against her entire body like rain being blown by the outward wind, and covering all of the surfers in the quick-second shower. A gulp made its way in her throat before she turned around to follow Snow; her legs shaking out of uncontrollable anxiety with the taste of salt water seeping into mouth in a pungent manner.

Snow paddled to a stop as he reached his group of friends, all of which greeted him with a variety of faces,

"Nice riding there blondie, but a little edgy bent in my opinion." Fang bashed on him as she grinned with a hint of arrogance before Maqui interjected.

"Yeah, Snow, what happened out there? You had it totally goin' for a second there!" The smaller blond surfer almost fell off his board while leaning in to talk to the giant. He quickly readjusted his black goggles as he waited for an answer with a smile.

Snow laughed a bit as he scratched the back of his head embarrassingly,

"I don't know. I guess I just got a bit _distracted_—" he droned off as he turned to look at the pink haired surfer paddling towards him.

As he turned with a smile, all of the surfers around him looked past him with confused faces. When Serah sat up on her board with a wobble, she gave Snow a weak smile as he grinned hugely back, but Maqui voice broke the peace,

"Hey-hey Snow! I knew you could catch waves, but wow I would've never guessed you could catch beach hotties, too!" a giant hand grabbed Maqui's face with a stiff grip.

"This is the gang—" He pushed the younger blond off of his own board and into the water with a splash "Minus this bonehead." Serah giggled as everyone else laughed causing Snow to smile as well.

"This here is Fang, Gadot, Yuj, Lebreau, and of course, Maqui." The younger surfer sputtered water out of his mouth as he rested his arms on the darker board. Each of the surfers gave a quick "hey" or "'sup" as Snow turned back to the young girl surfer.

"Guys, this is—" the male surfer suddenly halted as he realized he hadn't even asked her name. He mentally slapped his forehead as he felt like a total idiot for being so rude.

"Serah." She finished his sentence with a soft voice and a smile.

Snow smirked as he turned to face the girl fully, "I'm Snow."

"Nice to meet you, _Snow_." Her lips curled as she said his name, embedding the words deeply into her head for memory. Both surfers were now sitting on their wading boards staring at each other with their sparkling blue eyes.

The rest of the gang peaked over the blond surfer's muscular shoulders with beady eyes as they watched the two in their totally secluded world. Each surfer raised an eyebrow before flickering their eyes towards each other, but Gadot grabbed the broski by the shoulder and lightly turned him around,

"So chief, you gonna let the girl surf or what?" Gadot's mischievous grin made Snow blush as he realized he had been staring at the pink haired girl for so long.

He turned back around as he smiled widely at Serah,

"You up for some pipe? We'll block any wave you want." He smiled sweetly as the rest of the surfers looked at her with similar grins, but Fang eyed the girl with question.

The tan tribal woman knew something was up, the trembling of her legs obvious to her deep emerald eyes. She quickly brushed the idea off as she assumed that the girl was just shivering from the freezing morning water.

Serah stuttered as she choked out an answer, "S-sure, bring it on." She grinned weakly as she began to follow Snow and the others to the main lineup where other surfers were waiting for a wave. The rumble of a far off wave made all of the wading surfers turn their heads in unison, that sound being the signal of an upcoming A-frame; a huge, and perfect pipe wave.

Snow turned to the groups and other surfers around him as he shouted with a large bellow,

"Listen up! This girl here's new to this beach and surf, so I don't want any of you stealing her wave, got it?" You would think no one would listen to the blond, but the surfer and his group were natives to the beach, and no one messed with the locals. The other surfers backed off, along with the fact that they wanted the lady to go first. Common courtesy people. It even exists on the surf.

Snow turned his beanie capped head to the smaller girl as he smiled sweetly with her returning the grin. The wave approached dangerously fast, and the group of surfers began to paddle away from the wave and towards the shore with quick arms. Serah paddled in the midst of them as a pat on the back made her turn her head to see a strawberry haired girl grinning widely at her with an assuring look. The pink haired girl smiled softly as she turned back around and continued to paddle near the front of the pack.

The wave began to lift the back of everyone's boards as it started to form into a good twenty footer barrel wave, its growl echoing through the entire beach causing the beach bystanders to watch its majestic beauty.

Serah felt the forceful pull of the water as she escalated up the wall of water at a frightening speed. The surfers around her pulled back to leave her to her solo wave, but this didn't help as Snow whooped behind her, which intensely shot up her nerves. Beginning to find herself on the edge of hyperventilating, Serah gripped the edges of the board as she hovered on the top of the wave like a teeter. She looked down with her crystal blue eyes to see what seemed like a hundred feet of air between her and the water below—a gasp of raspy breath escaping her trembling lips.

Her stomach lurched upward as she felt the drop in her descent, the board under her feet pulling forward without her lead. She stood completely on the waxed surface gripping the board with her toes, but the clutch wasn't enough. She almost had it. She could feel it as she began to ride the rail beautifully, but suddenly a large weight smacked the front of the board swerving it into the wall of water. Her body flung from the object below her and into the wall with a smack. Everything moved in slow-motion as she disconnected from the board, but the moment she flew into the wave, time sped up rapidly as her body rolled into the pipe. Her back bent forward to the point for a stinging pain to rise in her spine, and soon she found herself being turned horribly in Hell's washing machine of doom. The board being attached to her ankle by a strap didn't help with the random spontaneous jerking either, and it even compelled her to be flung in the spinning water more drastically.

The surfers on the shore watched in horror, worried for the young surfer; the horrid thought of a deadly collision with the razor-sharp lava rocks lurking beneath her a constant parasite in the fearful mind. The amateur was only lucky the wave was high enough to avoid the jagged rock bed under her rolling body.

The surfers back in the lineup watched in a less dramatic fear, having seen this kind of action constantly, but Snow and the gang watched in utter horror. The blond male surfer swiftly paddled towards the shore like a madman, fearful of the girl's safety, along with the other surfers, but Fang shook her head as her presumption came true. Vanille looked up at her in confusion, but the tan woman merely paddled after the other with Vanille following close behind.

For a moment, Serah honestly and undeniably thought she had died. Her body lied in the water motionlessly as she washed up onto the shore with random bystanders staring at her in shock. She remained still as her entire body ached in pain and felt as if it had been petrified, but soon a mumbled voice was booming in her ear, along with a warm touch to her back and shoulder.

Snow softly shook the girl with eyes filled with distress, calling out her name frantically with the people watching doing absolutely nothing to help. Serah's blue eyes slowly opened as she spontaneously began to hack out sea water from her lungs causing Snow to grip her back with his strong hands in an attempt to help her cough the water up.

After her stifling seized, she waited for the blur in her vision to fade while Snow helped her sit up. The hazy sight evaporated as she looked down at her legs with a gasp. Blue and purple started to form around her thighs and knees like spots,

"Are you hurt?" Snow said with a sense of urgency in his deep voice as he held the petite girl in her arms.

The words didn't get to her ears as she freaked out over the splotchy and strange discolorations,

"What are these?" she said with a yelp, but Snow quickly held her shoulders for comfort.

"Don't worry. They'll fade in about an hour. They're wave bruises from the impact. Are you sure you're not injured?" Serah replied with a nod as she looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

A silence floated around the two like an unfavorable mist before Snow smiled weakly,

"You…can't surf pipe, can you?" he wasn't angry at all, but Serah's face hinted a sense of rage towards herself.

"I can't surf _'surf'_." She said with a huff and a frown looking away again in refusal to meet the sweet guy's eyes.

They're attention averted towards the white surf board she rode that roughly rolled onto the shore in two separate pieces having a clean break near the tip. A gloomy haze hovered around the girl's head as she lowered it into her knees with a groan, but Snow just smiled with an inward laugh.

Serah heart burst in complete humiliation as she abruptly stood up on wobbly legs and walked towards her pile of clothes and her camera. Snow watched in confusion as she had pried herself from his comforting hold, and got up to follow her with concern,

"What's wrong—"

"What's wrong? I just went out into the ocean for my first time ever and completely wiped out like a total idiot, not to mention I humiliated myself in front of the entire beach population! I am battered and bruised, I broke your board, and I can't feel my shoulder blade. I'm going home." She grabbed her things and began to stride towards the parking lot, earning herself a good amount of stares and "ooh's" from her splotchy colored legs. Snow stopped for a second as he felt pain from the hurt in her voice, but he resisted to pursue her as he felt almost responsible for making her go out in the surf.

_I shouldn't have pestered her so much about the surfing. I mean she wouldn't have gotten hurt if it weren't for me. God, she must think I'm such a jerk!_

His thoughts rolled as he watched her stumble on the sands and onto the asphalt street, but a black object caught his eye in the sand dune. He bent over as he picked up a really nice camera with a beautiful shine to it. Out of pure curiosity, the blond surfer turned on the machine and began to look through the pictures of Vanille and some other surfers from the day's waves, but the last picture made his mouth slightly drop. The picture with him surfing on the thirty-footer wave was incredibly stunning, and the angle was so original it almost appeared to have been done on accident. He wasn't even thinking of himself in the picture, but how amazing the shot was, and he would've continued to look through the camera's gallery if it weren't for the fact that she probably wanted it back.

Running after Serah, he quickly found her unchaining a bike from a rack in the lot. Slowing to a stop behind the bent over girl, he waited a moment as his mind went blank on what to say, and soon words just began to tumble out,

"Hey, you, um, forgot this—" He lowered the camera down to the turned away girl, who wouldn't have even turned if she didn't feel the camera's strap touch her bare skin.

She quickly, yet softly took the device with a sigh, thankful that she hadn't left it out for a wandering civilian to snatch it up. Looking up at the guy who scratching his head in an awkward manner, she sighed again, but with a depressed tone instead. Snow felt the depression emitting from the girl, and gave a measly attempt to relieve her of it,

"Do you—want to learn?" Snow looked down at the girl undoing the lock on her bicycle chain with a calm expression.

"What?" Serah replied with a monotone voice, a _snap _emitting from the lock.

"How to surf?"

The pink haired girl paused as she stopped her actions with a melancholy visage.

"I don't have any money for lessons…" Another silence ensued from the two as a car honked down the road in a bad case of road rage.

Snow put his hands in his boxer's pockets before a gleaming look appeared on his face,

"Well—" he bent down to smirk mischievously at the girl, who returned to look with one of uncertainty.

"Here's the deal: I'll give you lessons, and you don't have to worry about the board you broke."

"What? But that's all in favor for me. You don't get a thing out of it!" Her face showed utter shock at the offer, and almost thought it was too good to be true.

"That's not entirely true…" he mumbled before another confused look plagued Serah's face, but soon an deep blush covered Snow's cheeks as he realized what he had just said, and then tried to cover it up,

"Um, I mean—you don't have a choice! You did break my board."

The two paused in thought as Serah considered the offer nervously, and Snow waited almost impatiently for an answer, worried he said the wrong thing. He continued with a supportive sigh,

"Think of it as you won't break anymore boards if you learn how to surf." Serah's expression remained unchanged, but she was clearly in thought.

_It's not like I have anything to lose, but I just don't know… I mean, I do want to make up for breaking his board and embarrassing myself in front of all his friends. What's to lose? I guess… I guess it might be a good way to start to fit in on this island._

"So, we got a deal?" Snow stated with a smile, but a serious case of anxiety wavered behind his blue eyes, worried that the girl in front of him would completely reject him.

Serah sighed as she dropped her hands to the ground and looked up at the blond with a slightly irritated face,

"Fine. Deal." She stood up quickly as she grabbed hold of the bike's handles, and then throwing her leg over onto the seat.

Snow was speechless for a moment as nothing but an open smile covered his stubble face,

"Wait, seriously?" He said, almost in disbelief.

"Yes, blondie. What else are we talking about?" she began to peddle around him and towards the road to head home.

Snow still grinned like a total idiot, watching the girl bike away down the street, her pink haired head turning around ever so slightly to glance back at the blonde surfer. A soft chuckle stifled from her throat as she saw him punch the air with a gleeful shout. The wind blew through her drying hair tenderly as she continued down the road; the previous events melting away with the sight of the smiling blonde in her mind.

XXX

_**Swing Life by Rise Against_

Snow jumped in the air ridiculously as people stared at him with greatly confused expressions, but he didn't even care as a voice interrupted his blissful state,

"Dude, please don't tell me you scared the poor girl off—"

"Gadot!" a blond blur flashed in front of the dark and burly man as Snow wrapped his arms around his best man with a serious death grip.

Croaking out words, Gadot managed to squeak to an approaching Fang,

"Fang! Please…help…tranquilizer…" Fang swiftly grabbed the leech off of Gadot by the ear and jerked him down to her level.

"What the hell was that? How could you just bring a newbie out there into the A-frame with surf like this? People die out there, Snow! _She_ could've died—!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Look Fang, I didn't know she couldn't surf. She said she surfed!"

"Yeah, probably because you pressured her into it, you big bonehead…"

"What? I did no such thing—Ow!"

"You are a lame excuse for a surfer. Gadot!" Fang turned to see the dark muscular surfer passed out on the ground from the killing grip Snow had on him, Lebreau and Maqui fanning him with oriental fans.

Without questioning their possession of the strange accessories, Fang sighed as she turned her attention back to the pained Snow. She loosened her grip as she pulled him closer to her face, and spoke to him in a softer but more monotone voice,

"So. How much is she paying?"

"What?"

"For _lessons_ you idiot! How much is she paying you?" Fang tightened her grip as she flung him closer to her face, earning another hurt face from the blond.

"She's _not_—"

Fang literally dropped the giant onto the ground with a thud as she threw her hands dramatically outwards with a shout,

"What? You're giving her free lessons? Snow, we need the money! Neeeed it!" her stressed out face greatly defined the last part of the sentence. It was true; they were broke.

Snow stood back up as he crossed his arms and huffed in satisfactory,

"Well, just think of it as I'm teaching her for her own safety." He smiled with a proud look as Fang gazed up at him with an unconvinced stare, her hands on her hips,

"Riiiight…" the rest of the gang had helped Gadot back to a conscious state, but Yuj and Maqui had to act as support on each side of the muscular surfer. Lebreau was the first to jump into Snow's face with a mischievous smirk,

"So, hot shot, when's the first date? Hmmm?" a fierce blush exploded on Snow's face as he waved his hands in front of the black haired girl.

"N-no! It's not a date, I'm just teaching her lessons tomorrow—"

"That soon huh? Man, you two just can't wait can you~" Vanille swooned in as she popped up next to Lebreau.

"Seriously, guys, we're _just_ surfing. Besides, I only met her a few hours ago." Snow began to push himself away from the gossipy girls as he grabbed his board and the broken one from Maqui's hands, who had picked it up a few minutes earlier.

"Alright gang, lay off the poor guy. We gotta get to work." Gadot's booming voice acted like an order to the younger surfers as they all began to stack their boards on top of their respective cars.

Snow still stood in the sand staring out towards the waves with a soft grin painted on his face. The breeze dried his salty hair as the flaming sun floated off of the ocean's surface like a shining orange with its bright luminescence melting the entire atmosphere into a warm light. The smell of crisp tropic air relaxed the surfers on the beach and waves with a tranquil aura that seemed to dissolve any existing stress, but it was unpleasantly interrupted by the slamming of car doors.

Snow heard his name being called and turned to see Gadot waving a hand from the driver's seat as Fang and Vanille's car sped down the road. Snow smiled as he made his way to car while throwing a black and blue shirt over his head, and then quickly jumping into the open roofed car without even opening the door. The two surfers drove out of the parking lot with a record of least curse words thrown at terrible parkers and lot hoggers before they were making their way down the road towards work at the local beach bar.

XXX

_**Firesuite by Doves_

_**Seasong by Doves_

A groggy yawn stifled from underneath the alabaster sheets in the beachy room, along with a few tired movements shifting the covering like pure white sand dunes. A single hand reached out from under the covers and stopped as it landed on a metal clock sitting on a weaved dresser next to the bed, but not long was it swiftly snatched up; disappearing into the mess of sheets. Another groan emitted from the bed with a sluggish shift, but the movement stopped for a breath's moment before the covers flew off of the bed in the blink of an eye.

Making her way across the cold floor, the pink haired beauty rubbed her face profusely before entering the bathroom to wash up. The open windows let in a sweet breeze from the visible beach front as the thin white curtains floated in the draft. Within minutes, the entire house was filled with spontaneous bursts of cursing, the girl angered from every stub of the toe she came upon in the wooden beach house, but she soon enough found her way to the kitchen with little blood and gore.

A click emitted from a small television in the living room, which was directly connected to the open barred kitchen, and small voices whispered throughout the room like ghosts. The dark blue setting in the house, due to the owner's lack of lighting, floated like a haze from the ocean only a few meters away, and the sound of waves echoed like music in the few corridors it possessed.

A peanut butter sandwich found its way into the 21-year-old's mouth with a crunch, smaller chews following as the surf report played on the television,

"Yeah, Jim, the pipe out here is fierce, and not only the waves, but the surfers too! Though the majority had the rocks in store for them, a few lucky riders got some serious curl. I'm telling you, these were the best waves I've seen this season! The upcoming competition's gonna be a blast—"

Lightning turned the tv off with a click before finishing her meal,

"…I bet Serah got some really nice shots today." Her random voice lightened the blue in the house before her ice-blue eyes shifted towards the refrigerator with a skeptical look. Slowly reaching out to open the black box, she swiftly ripped the door open before scanning the stock with piercing eyes. Her gaze remained still as she looked up and down before growling,

"Damn it." She let her whole body drop as she slowly closed the door.

"She took the chocolate pudding…"

Lightning sighed before taking a glance at the calendar attached to the fridge. A red circle was planted on the date today, June 30, with a completely illegible scribble drawn across it with about ten exclamation points. Pushing the tip of her finger against the red ink, she squinted her eyes in an attempt to read the messy handwriting that she may or may not have written, she honestly couldn't tell.

Suddenly a lightbulb lit up above her head as she quickly through a black baseball cap over her pink hair and dashed over the counter following with a leap above the couch making a trail towards the backdoor. Her bare feet struck the sand strongly with her weight perfectly shifted in balance, and one after the other she was soon sprinting down the beach with the ocean waves crashing on her right. Her short shorts and tank top blowing against the wind with her long hair whipping across her face, her breath became deep before she found herself a mile down the beach.

XXX

A sharp, strident scream roared from inside a huge shack resting in the shade of the palm trees decorating the beach front. The screech would slowly stop occasionally, but promptly start up again as if in a pattern, but the sound was never any less clamorous.

Lightning jogged her way into the open doorway with small beads rolling down her forehead from the six mile run, but her breath was still regular and full. Knocking on the open frame of the hut, she shouted through the shrill cry of the machine being held by a darker man wearing a metal faceguard. Using a sanding machine similar to a waxing tool on cars, the spinning sander roared in the hands of its user while sanding down the wooden board underneath it. The board was almost finished, and this man wasn't going to stop at nothing, or so her thought,

"Sazh!" Lightning shouted her very loudest, but with no response.

A growl emitted from her throat as she dangerously set her hand on the board in progress, causing a quick cough from the machine to follow. The man stopped as he lifted the mask above his head with a flustered face appearing on his visage as he annoyingly shouted around him,

"Hey! I'm working here! Look, you lil' surfer girls can't just waltz in here like you darn own the place, so go get yourself some hot surfer dude and leave an old man in piece—" he finally looked Light in the face before dropping his voice and expression.

"Oh, it's only you. Thought you were some kid." This earned him a quick sigh before the girl in front of him crossed her arms.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the board."

"Looks like someone's still single and sober—"

A _tch _rolled off of Lightning's teeth before she turned around to look at some of the finished boards with Sazh still talking to her,

"Girl, when are you going to get some excitement in your life? All you do is work, work, work, and honestly, your sister sees more action in an hour than you've seen since you've gotten here."

"I know Sazh, I know. But now that my parents are gone, I have to take care of Serah, and that requires for me to work, work, work—" she lifted an unfinished board off the wall with a grunt as she examined it in her arms.

"Besides, I like the work. Makes me feel like I have a purpose." She handed the board to Sazh before picking up a metal square on the floor used as a shaping tool.

Sazh merely sighed before replying to the demure girl,

"You got a point there, Farron, but to stray from the subject, how's she been doing with the move and all? Surely she's got friends and hobbies by now." Taking the board back and sitting against the wall, Light began to scrape the metal against the board with long stroking motions as she carved away pieces of the wood. The wood fell to the floor in soft curls, littering the natural sand flooring along with previous lumber shavings,

"She's okay. Not completely used to the hot weather, but she likes it. Seems she's found a fancy in my camera though. I never really used the darn thing, but she's been going out to North Shore almost every morning to snap some shots of the pipe-riders. I bet she's making friends out there while she's busy taking pictures." Her sentences sounded a bit choppy due to the fact that the gentle scraping easily distracted her and broke the focus between her mind and lips that spoke her thoughts.

Sazh laughed lightly as he leaned on the board he was working on before rambling off again,

"Now that sounds like a hobby. Making boards? Almost as annoying as breaking them, but man, the outcome is pure bliss. Nothing like riding your own forged board."

Lightning remained quiet as she continued her pattern of carving before another pregnant pause hovered above the two, Sazh's voice sounding in question,

"So, does Serah surf?"

Lightning halted her actions before sitting in silence as her breath seized from entering her lungs. Empty air blew between the two in an awkward drop, but the blue light in Lightning's eyes shimmered in the sunlight from outside. The moment seemed to last forever before the sound of metal hit the board once more,

"No."

* * *

><p>Pretty abrupt ending right? Really sorry bout that, but I decided just to add the next part to the rest of the next chapter.<p>

Alright! Next chapter! TE BOYZ! And I did lie about Cloud being the only FFVII character...guess you'll have to wait to find out who it is ;3

Until Next Time... :3


	3. Chapter 3

Why hello thar! Just a quick update before my finals next week, and then it's SUMMER VACATION! Oh yeah, there's gonna be a lot of updates then, I can promise you that!

AAAAHH! Ish te boys! And they are men of top quality too! This chapter was really hard to write, and I'm not sure why, but I hope it's okay. The next chapter will be even harder x_x. But that's okay!

Aaaaand I've got some good news! This story...is being discontinued!

*cricket* *cricket*

HAHA! Just kidding! But seriously, this fanfic finally has an ACTUAL STORYLINE! zomgawd-wut? Yeah, I came up with it the other day, and I'm kind of excited! So writing it is going to be easier, and you readers will actually have something to read about (ohohohohohooooo~)

Also, for music in this chapter, anything by **Blank & Jones **will do the trick ;)

Thank you so all so much for the incredible reviews! They mean the world to me, and I am always open for crits, comments, or questions :D

Anyway, onto the chapter!

**I do not own Final Fantasy XIII, Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, or Blue Crush**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter III: Sweet Problems<em>

"Baggage arrival from Sydney. Baggage arrival from Sydney—"

The monotone voice on the large intercom echoed throughout the massive airport like a piercing wave, catching the ears of some fellow Australians strolling down a long corridor filled to the brim with people.

"That would be us—" the smaller boy of the group ran his aching hands through his silver hair as he stood from his seat. His brilliant blue eyes shining from the sunlight filtering through the windows, complimented nicely by his fashionable blue bandana around his neck.

"Finally! I thought it would never arrive." A groan erupted from a ginger-haired man's throat before he leapt to the floor from the elevated ledge. Wearing a sleeveless black shirt with a graphic on it, he pounced onto the smaller teen causing the two to begin wrestling a bit before an older voice bellowed behind them,

"_Children…_" the two froze as a horrifying chill ran up their spines. They turned their heads slowly to see a dark figure towering over them before they both gulped loudly. Silence floated around them like a haze before the voice lightened up,

"Play nice." The two dropped the scared looks on their faces and grinned before straightening up and clicking their heels together,

"Sir, Yes Sir!" their right hands swiftly met their foreheads in a salute as their eyes gleamed like a soldier's. A smirk crept onto the mysterious man's face before another voice sounded behind him.

"Vincent, I told you to watch the kids not drill them, and Hope, Reno don't encourage him." A blond, spiky-haired, muscular guy walked up to the three with two coffees in his hands, a faint smile on his lips.

"_Kids_?" the two boys shouted, but the blond merely strolled past them as he handed one of the drinks over to the darker figure.

"We should head out." The dark-haired man responded before sipping on his drink.

The blond put a hand behind his neck before breathing a heavy sigh,

"You think the competition will be tough?" a pause hovered between the two comfortably before Vincent took another taste of his cherry mocha before replying in a deep voice.

"Affirmative." Another sip.

Silence. Crickets began to chirp amongst the four as they stood in the middle of the long foyer with foreigners carrying luggage up and down the hall. A sigh escaped each of the boy's mouths before another silence followed. A giant gasp of breath,

"Bags."

"Right."

"I'll get the carry-on."

"Tickets."

The four quickly dispersed before disappeared into the crowd like soldiers in a squad with Cloud off to get the bags with Hope, and Vincent going to reel the tickets with Reno and his mocha.

XXX

Bags rolled along the rail in random multitudes as people gawked downward to find their own luggage. In a chorus of shoves and grunts, Cloud was able to squeeze his way towards the front with a few mumbled "Sorry"'s with Hope close behind as they too searched for their belongings. They watched the moving bags with curious eyes before spying an enormous set of cases coming towards them. With a swift movement of his hands, the blond hoisted the straps of his own luggage up on his shoulders, and tucked the long flat case under his arm before swiftly escaping the choking crowd of people. Hope followed in suit as he struggled to grab two of the massive bags, but it seemed to be going nowhere as passengers stared at him in confusion.

Feeling as if he had forgotten something, the spiky-haired blond turned to see Hope squirming on the floor while pulling the bags with all of his might. Sighing with a shake of his head, Cloud strolled over to the boy as the crowd began to deflate in number leaving little Hope struggling awkwardly in the open.

With a quick snag, Cloud lifted the boy and the luggage from the floor causing Hope to gasp in surprise before realizing what had happened.

"Need a hand, Estheim?" Cloud said in a deep and quiet voice, unsuccessfully holding back an amused smile.

"Hey, this bag's heavy! I don't know what that red-head puts in his luggage, but something smells fishy—" Cloud dropped the boy softly back on the ground while grabbing Reno's unnaturally heavy bag.

"It's just the ocean your smelling. We need to get to the taxi." Cloud offered a hand to the sixteen year old with an emotionless face as the boy sitting on the ground huffed before grabbing the offered palm. Dusting off his pants, Hope quickly grabbed his own bag and chased after the quick paced blond with a smile on his face.

XXX

"Damn it, Yuj! I told you a thousand times _not_ to leave your hair gel near the drink mix!"

"It's not my fault the humidity back here makes my bangs droop! I gotta keep it fresh, man—"

"Fresh? Dude, I'll show you the definition of fresh!" fire spit from the machine in the muscular man's hands as Yuj's eyes widened with tears at the edges.

"N-No! Anything but that!" the blue haired boy put his hands up in defeat, but Gadot just smirked evilly as he started to chase the younger boy. A girlish scream echoed from behind the doors to the kitchen causing everyone in the front to become utterly confused. Snow sighed before apologizing to his friends as he got up from his seat to go check on the two men.

Opening the metal door cautiously, the giant blond poked his head in through the crack to see Gadot laughing manically while Yuj was sobbing and covering his beautiful hair with a cooking pot.

"AHAHA! That's right, who's the boss?" Gadot pumped both of his arms before giving a whoop of victory.

Snow approached the laughing victor with caution before placing his hand on the man's shoulder with a smile.

"Technically, Gadot, I'm the boss. Now, can you please stop trying to fry my mixer? I need him for the girls…" Snow carefully snatched the fire machine from the Mohawk-man and quickly tossed it behind him,

"Can't we all just get along here?" He put on a huge goofy grin as he squinted his eyes at the two.

Gadot turned his attention towards the younger teen with a stern look as Yuj glared back at him from under his pot-shield. Static erupted between them in sparking flashes, but the two quickly huffed and crossed their arms, swiveling their heads away from each other.

"Rooster-head."

"Pretty-boy."

The two insulted simultaneously causing Snow to sigh with a smirk. _That would have to do_, he thought as he patted Gadot on the shoulder, and turned to go back outside.

"Alright, we open in an hour. Got it?" Snow waved his hand as he pushed the door open with ease.

"Sure thing, boss." Gadot and Yuj groaned before turning their attention back towards each other.

The two surfers sighed with breaths of relief, Gadot giving a small smirk to the younger boy,

"Aw, come on. We can get along right? I mean your hair's not that bad—"

"Yeah, same here. Let's just go do our job."

Gadot reached out his hand and helped the blue-haired surfer up, while each guy wrapped an open arm around the other's shoulder. They both laughed for a second as their truce came into completion,

"Sounds good to me. I mean, the color of our hair shouldn't separate us! I have my hair, and you have yours—"

"You're right. Besides, I've always found the color of a stripper's thong very suiting for your hair."

"What?"

"Nothing."

XXX

"I'm home!" Serah stood still for a moment before she realized she was by herself. She locked the blue door behind her and proceeded into the empty kitchen to search for something to eat. Grabbing a small granola bar, the teen munched on her meal as she hopped onto the nest-like couch to turn on the television.

_Three thirty already? At least I made it home before dark…_

Obviously uninterested in the news, the munchies began to attack the young girl's nerves causing an irritated groan to erupt from her throat. Leaping up from the soft red cushion, Serah unnecessarily zipped over to the fridge before opening it to scan the stock. Her eyes widened, and her breath cut short.

Panic struck her like a bullet as her vision focused in on the empty box sitting in the _very center_ of the refrigerator. Labeled in black sharpie across the top was a word that had even smaller words of death that had even smaller words of torture written all over it,

_Pudding_

Serah's expression converted to one of ghastly horror, as if she had just seen death itself,

"Sis's pudding..." her eyes turned into flat lines before her mind zoned in on one singular word,

_Crap._

A scream shook through the whole house causing seagulls around the perimeter to fly off in fear and confusion.

Serah began to pace the floors of the house with a look of terror spread across her beautiful face,

"What if she's come home already? What if she's plotting revenge, o-or what if she's gone to get recruits in the "Vengeance of the Pudding" revolt? Oh it doesn't even matter! I am dead—I am sooo dead!"

Continuing to pace in circles, her whimpering echoed through her own mind in fear of her sister's harsh punishment. No one touched Lightning Farron's pudding. No one!

_Think Serah, think…_

Suddenly, a lightbulb appeared above her head as she pounded her fist into her palm.

"TO THE STORE!"

XXX

"I hope they have chocolates on the bed!" Hope chimed in jokingly as he and the others walked into the house they would be staying at for the summer.

"This isn't a hotel, you dope. But I bet there's some chocolate we can snag in the pantry." Dropping his ridiculously heavy bag on Hope's foot, Reno sneaked into the kitchen with a large smirk on his face.

Hope's face contorted before realizing the pain rushing through his foot,

"Reno! Geez—you got bricks in this bag or something?" The silver haired boy shouted as he jumped up and down while holding his pulsing foot. Setting his foot down again, his fingers raced towards the zipper of the bag and viciously ripped it open.

Cloud and Vincent peered over the squatting boy's shoulders to get a better look inside the bag. The jaws on each face dropped before a look of utter confusion and disbelief took over.

Inside the bag were almost a hundred packages of _Sea Salt Ice Cream__(_c), along with two giant bags of ice to keep them from melting. The three just stared at the white coverings of the blue, popsicle-styled ice cream, since the right words to say didn't exist.

"I found the chocolate!" The stunned faces turned to stare at the red head stepping out of the kitchen with a chocolate bar in his mouth.

"Funny they didn't have any pudding—" his voice trailed off as he returned the ghostly gaze of the three.

Once again, no one spoke a word except the chalky waves churning outside on the beach. Vincent turned his head to analyze one of the packages as he picked it up out of the bag, then turning to face Reno.

"What's this?"

Reno snapped out of his trance before casually responding,

"Oh, those are my sea salt pops. You can't buy them here, so I wanted to stock up while I was still in Newcastle. Pretty addicting if you ask me—" He took a large bite out of his chocolate bar before heading towards his exposed bag.

_Clearly…_, Cloud thought as he stood up straight to speak to Reno,

"I guess I should go pick us up some pudding. What type?"

"Chocolate!"

"Le Cocoa please!

"B-Positive."

…

The boys turned their heads slowly to gawk at Vincent and his estranged comment. Feeling uncomfortable with having so much attention, the dark haired man put his hands up in defense with a small mumble,

"Kidding."

XXX

After walking to the local grocery, Cloud had already found himself inspecting the strange foods offered at the store,

"Huh, this thing's on sale too."

Cloud continued to browse the aisles of the nearby grocery with calm yet curious eyes. His more muscular appearance earned him some stares and giggles from girls in another aisle, but he paid them little to no attention. He walked over to the seafood section of the store and began looking around once more. Grabbing a strange packaged food, he made a face before examining the product,

"Uni meats*? Wonder what that is…" he carefully placed the strange food back into its proper place before spotting the dessert aisle in the corner of his blue eye.

After strolling past a few more food stands and fellow shoppers, Cloud stopped right in front of the pudding section, which was rather limited in different flavors and styles. He bent over to grab the first chocolate kind he saw only to realize it was the last chocolate flavored pudding around.

"And this one's on sale too. I guess that explains this being the last one—" the blond couldn't finish as he turned his head and locked eyes with a smaller girl a few yards away. The girl's eyes slowly moved down to the box of pudding held in Cloud's hands. The blond man looked down at the container as well, and then back up at the girl, who was now two feet in front of him with desperate looking eyes. Cloud jumped a bit, surprised by the pink-haired girl's celerity,

"Is that the last one?" the girl cried out before her blue eyes widened a bit more.

"Um, yeah, but if you want it you—"

The girl cut the blond off by dropping to her knees and grabbing at his shirt with tears welling in her eyes,

"Sir. You have no idea how much that pudding means to me. I accidentally, well, sort of didn't know I ate my sister's pudding and now, I need pudding! She loves pudding, especially strawberry, but that's not the point!"

Cloud watched with a puzzled face as the girl began to ramble on about how she ate her sister's pudding before she finally took a large breath of air to speak more calmly,

"Sir. It's a matter of life or death! Please, I'll do anything!"

Cloud was speechless, for the fact that there was a random girl sobbing at his feet, and that it was all over a box of pudding. People began to watch in confusion, which made the blond even more flustered.

Quietly crouching down on his knees, the spiky-haired, twenty-three year old handed the box of pudding over to the girl with a sweet smile as she tried to wipe away her tears.

"Here, you can have it. I don't really like chocolate anyway."

The girl wiped a tear away before staring at the man and then the box, her side ponytail falling neatly over her shoulder. She politely took it from him and thanked him with a bow of the head,

"Oh my god, thank you so much! You have my ultimate thanks. But I feel terrible, is there anything I can do in return?"

The girl's eyes widened slightly as Cloud placed a hand on top of her head and ruffled her pink hair sweetly,

"Just don't eat your sister's pudding again."

Smiling from ear to ear, the girl bowed her head even deeper this time before thanking the guy profusely. Cloud continued to smile softly as he waved his hands in utter modesty.

The two stood up off the floor before saying their goodbyes,

"Thanks again, stranger!" She said before turning to run to the front of the store. Within seconds, she was gone, and Cloud merely raised his hand a bit,

"No problem." He said in a monotone voice as he stood in the cold aisle all alone.

Exhaling an involuntary sigh, he glanced back at the pudding next to him, the strawberry flavor in particular.

"That was weird."

XXX

"Snow, it's already four! Hit the switch!" Lebreau called out from behind the bar as the sun began to set in the background.

The bar was right on the beach front, open to the air and without walls, but the large palm roof that seemed to hover overhead formed a nice and cool shading for the especially hot days. White-yellow Christmas lights were strung from the corners of the palm roof's peak down the edges, creating a warm, tropical atmosphere for the place, and the tables spread out across the deck were creatively constructed of palm tree trunks and palm stems. The bar never got too crowded, since tourists rarely learned of its existence, but that's just how the natives liked it. It was their own personal bar where everyone knew the person they drank a daiquiri with; 'a little paradise' as some liked to call it.

Snow jumped over a few crates to reach a giant master-switch with plugs assorted in multiple colors, and swiftly plugged one of the giant ones in. Then with a smirk, the tall man flicked a switch and the strung lights came to life; their glows illuminated beautifully in the setting sun's rays before Snow turned them down just a notch to set the perfect afternoon mood.

After making his way back to the main platform of the bar, the blond surfer headed over to Lebreau, who was whipping up a drink in a shaker with a grin,

"Aww, Snow. Why couldn't you have made your first date be here at the bar? Then we could've all met her and tell her to be wary about you."

"We are _not _dating! Besides, what kind of guy would take a girl to _a bar_ on their first date?"

"You."

"A-ha! But you see, I'm not taking her to a bar! I'm taking her surfing—"

Snow's mouth remained in a smirking state before he realized what he had said before stuttering like mad trying to correct himself. Lebreau only laughed a haughty chuckle.

"You're just lucky she's not a minor…isn't she?" the raven-haired girl asked with a questioning look.

The burly surfer landed his hands on her bar before sputtering out in defense,

"No! Of course not…maybe?"

The girl smacked her forehead with her dainty hand before groaning at the idiot. First he almost gets her killed, and now he might as well be dating illegally.

"Snow. This is why I feel sorry for that poor girl." Lebreau sang as she clean a glass with a rag.

Snow merely sighed in defeat as he rested his head on the bar top while depression slowly seeped into his heart. Heading over to the two surfers, Gadot let out a muffled laugh before slapping Snow on the back,

"Aw, come on Romeo, don't let this ol' wench get to ya."

"Hey!"

Following Snow's rebuke, Yuj and Maqui joined the three for drinks at the bar, and everyone just spent the time chatting in wait for customers. After a few minutes of laughter and gossip, Gadot spoke up again in a burly voice,

"Anyway, I just called Vince, and he's heading over with the boys."

The group's drinks slammed down against the bar top at once before they all shouted in unison,

"What?" Shocked smiles grew on everyone's faces before Gadot was swarmed with questions.

"When did they get here?"

"Are they staying for the whole summer?"

Gadot waved his hands around before raising his voice a little,

"Take it easy! You can ask them yourselves—" with an amused smirk playing on his lips, he pointed behind him over his shoulder with his thumb, a group of beach-dressed guys walking towards the bar.

Wearing a sleeveless, dark shirt with silver markings, Cloud made his way behind Vincent, who was sporting a dark navy-grey collar shirt with the long collared sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Following behind them was Reno in his usual white collar shirt completely exposed to show off his toned chest muscles, accompanied by some fashionable dark jeans. Hope punched the red head in the arm as his outfit was a bit more modest than his older friend. Wearing, of course, a blue bandana around his neck, the sixteen year old modeled a short sleeved graphic tee with brown Capri-pants to match.

The youngest of the groupies were gone in the blink of an eye as they ran down the wooden plank steps to greet the pack of guys, leaving Snow and Gadot to watch in amusement. Gadot amiably placed a hand on the burly surfer sitting next to him on the high bar stool and gave a sweet 'manly' smile,

"So. What do you think?"

"About what?"

"About the girl! I've never seen you this washed up, bro."

Snow sighed sadly as he watched the drink in his glass swash around with uneasy eyes,

"Sorry, man, I just feel so nervous. I've never really felt this way about anyone before." A sigh escaped the surfer before his muscular friend leaned on his elbow to talk to the ailing blond,

"Boss, you've known her for what, a day? You gotta relax, or you're just going to look like a total stiff."

For the third time, a sigh escaped Villiers' mouth as he watched his drink with false interest.

Gadot leaned in closer and spoke in a supportive voice, trying to pump up his usually outgoing boss,

"Just be yourself."

A playful scream from Lebreau echoed from the beach as the groupies started heading back to the bar with the visitors.

"Myself?" Snow asked in an unconfident voice, but his eyes turned to barely meet Gadot's.

"Yeah! Just be the idiot who throws a beautiful girl into a pipe her first time surfing."

The rest of the group walked onto the deck and towards the bar as Snow replied in a sarcastic voice, but at least there was a smile,

"Thanks, Gadot. That's really reassuring."

The flaming Mohawk-man smacked the brosky on the back before giving a large bellow of laughter,

"Anytime, boss. Anytime." The muscular and dark skinned man marched over to greet the visitors with a warm welcome whilst leaving Snow to his thoughts.

_What is wrong with me? I mean, come one, I'm Snow Villiers! I'm the one who's always laughing and bursting with energy. What is it about this girl that just drives me crazy? I don't know what it is! Maybe her crystal blue eyes, that sweet voice from those dainty lips, or her dazzling pink…hair?_

Snow was quickly pulled back into reality as he looked out towards the beach on the opposite side that the group of guys had come on. Walking along the foam line of the waves was a tall and well-toned girl in a sleek black, sleeveless top with simple Nike shorts that showed off her fine legs. Although much skin was shone, the outfit was not put together to draw attention to one's self.

The darkness of the night made it harder to see the figure, but the light of the Tiki flame-lamps and the hanging lights created a halo of warm luminescence around the bar's perimeter.

With his heart racing madly, Snow froze on the spot as he straightened up in his seat,

_What do I do? Wait! Just relax, and calm down. Be yourself. Yeah! That should do it. Now just let her come to you—_

Unaffected by his thoughts, Snow's legs had stood from the seat and began running towards the girl involuntarily. The surfer began to freak out as he got closer and closer to his crush, and before he knew it, he was right in front of her,

"Hey, what are doing here—" Snow's voice stopped midway through what he was saying as he got a better look at the girl's face.

Glaring mildly into his eyes were two beautiful orbs of ice blue, and he realized he was almost eye-level with the girl in front of him. The woman's hair also flowed down her left shoulder, and not in the usual side ponytail that he was used to seeing. After blinking a few times, Snow realized that this was in fact _not_ Serah.

"U-Um, sorry. I thought you were someone else."

Lightning continued to stare back at him with a rather apathetic gaze, a single thought running through her mind,

_Why is it that this guy seems to tick me off so much?_

His voice echoed in her ears again, the waves rolling beside her,

"You okay, miss?"

"Fine. You serve drinks here?"

"Sure do! The name's Snow. I'm the manager here, and this is the Bar at Bodhum!" he raised his hands in the air for emphasis, only to gain a sigh of annoyance from the slightly smaller girl,

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." Light began to turn around to quickly flee the creepy man's presence, but he caught her with another whistle of his voice.

"Our special is the tropical daiquiri~" he bobbed his eyebrows as he waited for a response.

Lightning stopped dead in her tracks before turning her head to talk in a stern voice,

"Strawberry?"

"Freshly cut."

A silent pause hovered between the two before the woman began to make her way towards the bar and past the manager,

"I'll take it 'virgin'."

"On the double!" the burly man clicked his heels together before going to hand in the order to Lebreau and Yuj.

Back with Vincent and Gadot, everyone had already settled down at a large table while discussing their plans for the summer. Yuj and Lebreau had to get back to the bar, since more customers began to make their seat at the bar or at a table, but the place was still calm and quiet with ambient music playing softly in the background. Now that the sun had almost entirely set, the dark purple and crimson sky seemed to bleed into the ocean, but the beauty of the sunset was the main attraction at the bar, and the yearly breeze was the perfect, natural air conditioning.

Lebreau was laughing with a girl friend of hers before her breath was cut short. The sight of the pink-haired woman almost made her shout out to say hello, but Snow quickly placed a hand on her shoulder,

"She's just a look-a-like. And a rather opposite one at that." He grinned before watching the woman lean against the wooden-railing facing the ocean.

With a quick pop of his voice, Lebreau began to mix the daiquiri with a smile, continuing to chat with her friend.

"So, how was Surfest in Newcastle*? I bet there was some serious competition out there." Maqui piped up as he talked about the surfing contest in Australia, where the guys were from.

Reno stretched his back in his chair before lightly punching Vincent in the arm,

"Nah, nothing the Valentine can't handle."

Vincent simply took a sip of the drink in his hands and mumbled a phrase,

"The weather was good, but the waves were rocky the first day."

"Hope here scored first in two divisions." Cloud spoke softly before turning his attention towards the setting sun with a small smile.

Hope blushed as he waved his hands to defer the attention while everyone at the table laughed. Even Vincent cracked a smirk before sipping his tea gingerly.

Cloud grunted in an attempt of a laugh, but he just stared at the sunset with a content expression adorned on his face. His unnaturally blue eyes sparkled in the golden rays of the sun, but they widened a bit at the sight of the pink haired girl resting her elbows on the railing. His face didn't display much emotion, but he squinted his eyes a bit in the blaring sunlight to try to get a better look at her features, but to no avail.

With a simple 'will you excuse me for a second', the spiky-haired blond got up from the table and walked over to Snow and Lebreau.

"Hey Cloud, what's up?" after her inquiry, Cloud calmly pointed to the finished daiquiri in the girl's hands.

"Who's that for?"

"What, this? For the girl with the pink locks. Why do you ask?" Without a second to think, Cloud had politely grabbed the drink from the bartender's hands and began cleaning the edges of the drink.

"Thanks. I'll take it to her." Within moments, the blond had turned around and begun making his way towards the beautiful woman like a soldier on a job, leaving the raven-haired girl stuttering and confused

"U-um, okay, sure." Shrugging her shoulders, Lebreau began to fix the next drink on her order list before her manager came over with a curious face.

"What was that all about?"

Lebreau grabbed a cherry and popped it into her mouth before replying with a simple expression and voice,

"Cloudy boy's on a mission."

* * *

><p>*1 - UNI! The sexual organs of a sea urchin. Surprisingly very yummy.<p>

*2 - Surfest is a serious surfing competition in Newcastle, Southern Wales of Australia, and is one of the largest surf competitions in the world (though it's been moved to Victoria nowadays, and isn't as grand as it used to be)

WELL I hoped you all liked it. I know the jump from the house to the grocery is rather awkward, but I didn't know what to put in between it. Defnitly not one of my best chapters, but oh well :)

Until next time... :D


	4. Chapter 4

Ohohohohohooo! I'M BACK! And after so much happenins-you don't even want to know O3O

Anyway! I am now up and running again, and will be updating frequently for BOTH of my stories :D

Sorry for the wait! I hope you will forgive me TTATT

OH! And I can't tell you how happy I was to receive all of your wonderful reviews-you all make me burst with joy x3

Thank you _**EleanorLavish, XxOerbaDiaVanillexX, Wolf Strife, DublDagrKLL110, DesertStar87, Steve, Miller Inman, and Tear Of Light**_!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH 3

Now...

ONTO THE CHAPPY!

**I do not own the characters from Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy VII, or Blue Crush, nor do I own the locations mentioned in the following scripture. I write for the purpose of entertainment - not profit.**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter IV: Counting the Sighs<em>

_**Breezy by Blank and Jones_

The sun had set almost entirely, leaving a violet hue to color the wide open sky. Wispy clouds formed from the sun's deep halo, and stars began to twinkle in the darker regions of the sky.

A gentle wind blew through the girl's beautiful pink hair, ruffling it gingerly as a quixotic Spanish guitar plucked in the background.

Cloud carefully approached the railing the girl was leaning against, the entire time making sure he didn't spill the two drinks in his hands, especially her daiquiri. While staying out of her peripheral vision, the blonde set the strawberry mix next to her propped up elbow, leading to the girl's crystal blue eyes to shift inquiringly to glance at the drink. Placing his own elbows on the railing, Cloud held his breath before releasing it in a barely audible exhale as he held his own drink in both hands over the edge.

Turning her head just enough to look at the guy standing next to her, Lightning tilted her chin upwards to take in his features,

'_Blonde spiky hair, sky blue eyes, stern face. Definitely a face I've never seen before, so where the hell did he get the guts to approach me so brashly?'_

Her thoughts continued to process before the man's soft voice broke her concentration.

"Hi."

Lightning's face remained calm, but her hands slowly snatched the drink from the bare rail,

"Hi."

Her reply was dull and elongated for effect, and an uncomfortable silence followed as Cloud began to unconsciously twiddle his thumbs.

Over at the table where the gang had gathered around to chat, Gadot took notice of what was going on,

"Hey-hey, looks like Strife's already making summer plans." Following his booming voice, every head at the table turned to spy on the two still standing in silence.

"Psssh, yeah right! Cloud's not interested in women." Reno said as he leaned back on his hands while tilting the chair halfway off the floor.

Silence ensued as all eyes turned to Reno in question of what he just said. Maqui inched forward while cupping his mouth to whisper with a worrying look plaguing his face,

"Wait… You mean he's—?"

Reno's face turned red with annoyance as he slammed his open palm onto the table, his brow beginning to twitch vexingly,

"What—no! I meant he's already taken."

Lebreau's mouth dropped open, along with Yuj and Hope, who were in just as much shock,

"What? No way! By who?" they all said in unison as they hovered over the table towards haughty red-head.

Stepping onto the table with a bent knee like he was proposing, Reno placed a hand on his heart and stuck the other one out into the air as a sparkle twinkled in his eyes,

"_By the sway and the rhythm of the tide~_" he sang loudly as everyone watched with wide and baffled eyes, which all slowly changed into mixed emotions of awkwardness and embarrassment as he continued to sing in a rather gawky voice.

"Killed it."

"Shot down."

"Completely annihilated."

The three who questioned earlier rolled their eyes as they headed back to the bar to veer as far away from the humiliating scene as possible,

"Oh, come on! It was golden!"

Maqui patted the singer's back caringly as he began to sob.

Back over at the quiet side of the bar, and in an attempt to lessen the quiet, Cloud coughed in his throat,

"I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife." he said as he held his hand out to shake the pink-haired women's next to him.

Lightning took a sip of her drink without returning the slightest notice to the kind gentleman as Cloud awkwardly held his hand in the between them. He slowly ordered the hand to retreat as he tried to think of a plan B,

"So, you new around here?"

The blue-eyed girl slammed her drink down onto the railing as her head turned swiftly to shoot a soft glare at the blonde,

"Does it look like it?"

A small hint of fear crept into the back of his mind, causing Cloud to struggle to compose himself,

"Um, no… I just haven't seen you around here before." The blonde reached a hand around his head to rub his neck for no reason in particular as the girl next to him daintily sipped her drink again.

"I just moved here."

"Where from?"

"What's it to you?" With a sense of annoyance emitting from her like an aura, Lightning spoke in her signature voice as she turned completely around to face her inquirer. Her ice blue eyes sparkled from the dying sunlight, but the anger in her voice could also be spotted in the dazzling crystal irises.

Cloud sighed with a hint of frustration towards himself as he set his drink down to speak again, hoping to calm the vexed girl,

"Look, I'm sorry if I come off as rude, but it's just—"

Lightning crossed her arms as she waited for an answer to prove the man's reason for persistence. Deep down inside, she truly believed he had intentions other than wooing, but she never trusted men, especially ones this calm.

"I swear I've met you before."

Both figures still remained in place, while a small summer breeze blew through the air from behind the light-haired women and towards the blonde. Her hair ruffled lightly as her stare softened from a glare to a regular gaze, giving Cloud a small ounce of hope… which was crushed as she swiftly turned back to her drink,

"Must have been someone else."

Cloud slouched over in defeat as the girl sipped her drink without a care. Sighing loudly, the blonde turned back to his drink as well, which he finished in one swig before he continued his trek,

"Well, if you aren't the same person, then may I know who _you_ are?" Trying to hide the sass in his voice, Cloud set his drink back onto the rail as he watched the waves roll into the night sky,

"Lightning."

Letting the words sink into his mind, Cloud continued to stare into the dark of the night. The light of the tiki torches now acted as the only source of light as the sun had long since set, but its glow warmly covered everything around.

"You surf?"

"Nope."

"You free tomorrow?"

The pink-haired girl groaned as she glared at the taller man, who quickly put his hands up in defense,

"My friends and I were going to meet here tomorrow around noon and see what the surf was doing—" A pop sounded from across the bar along with some 'whoops' and 'hurrah's' as Cloud continued,

"If you want, I could show you around the island." His voice softened to a mere whisper by the time he had finished speaking.

Lightning still wore her usual scowl as she couldn't figure out why the guy was so damn persistent, but she might as well give him a chance, since he had made it this far anyway.

"We wouldn't be alone. Those idiots would be joining us—" Cloud pointed behind him at the table with the sobbing red-head and the guffawing Mohawk-man.

Lightning raised an eyebrow as she waited for an explanation of the particular crowd and how one came to find such people. Cloud grinned slightly as a bit of embarrassment hovered around him,

"They're just friends."

They both turned to look at the group as the people sitting around table had spurred into a drinking match, shouting and cheering on either Gadot or Snow. Both men were tilted back in their chairs, chugging down their sixth shot before Snow collapsed onto the floor, causing an eruption of cheers to burst in the almost empty bar.

The pink-haired girl gazed downwards in thought, her arms still crossed in a defensive fashion. Cloud waited patiently, but he was still nervous about her reply, since her expression hadn't changed much no matter what he said. Moving her head up quickly yet gracefully, Lightning shifted her eyes to look into the similar blue orbs above her,

"Why?"

Her voice was stern, but as soft as a whisper, which caused Cloud to stare back in a dazed manner. Taking a moment for the question to sink in, the blonde froze as he realized what she had actually asked, and found himself wondering the same thing. He pulled a hand behind his head to rub his neck mindlessly, replying with a face that looked the other way,

"You're…clearly not the girl I know…But—"

He turned his head back to face the now relaxed girl, her crystal blue eyes not afraid to make eye contact with him, and spoke with his usual embarrassed face,

"I want to get to know… _you_."

Letting his hand drop casually, he waited for the stranger to answer—to say something—_anything_.

"I'll pass on the 'hanging out'—" she said as she drank the last of her daiquiri.

Cloud raised his hand again to rub his neck, looking away from the stern woman.

"But I guess a quick tour wouldn't hurt." She huffed as she turned her head to stare at the dark ocean.

Cloud smirked softly, a tinge of relief playing on his lips as he grabbed his and her empty glasses,

"Where should I pick you up?"

"_The Katz Shack._ I get off work at one."

"Sounds good."

The two were silent once again before the blue-eyed girl pushed off of the railing and turned to walk towards the other end of the bar. Setting a bit of cash on the bar counter for Lebreau, who was enjoying the scene with an amused expression, Lightning walked down the steps of the bar, and began to make her way down the beach. Watching her stroll away with calm, blue eyes, Cloud called out to her, still holding the glasses in her hands as he leaned over the railing,

"Can I offer you a lift–"

"Don't push it, spiky."

Her simple tone made him smirk to himself as he waited until the darkness of the beach swallowed her figure entirely. Sighing with a shrug, the blonde headed over to the table whence he came, hoping no one had noticed his absence.

Setting the two drinks down carefully, he quietly seated himself in the chair he occupied earlier as the entire group around him hushed, turning their heads to look at the chocobo-haired man. Opening his eyes after another tired exhale, Cloud noticed the multiple pairs of eyes staring straight at him in silence.

"What?" he said as he started to shrink into his seat to try to escape the piercing gazes, the feeling of alarming awkwardness flooding his entirety.

XXX

_**Just Say Yes by Ken Andrews_

With the sand churning under her feet after every step, Lightning sighed as she continued to ask herself why she ever said yes to the 'date',

"Why in Odin's name did I ever agree to such a silly outing. What was I thinking?"

She kicked the sand in front of her with a scowl, the feelings swarming inside of her foreign to the usual 'Lightning' mojo.

"Sure, he honestly mistook me for someone else, but did I really have to go on a date with him—?"

Lightning stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widening a bit as she thought to herself,

"_Whoa, stop. A date? Ohohoo, I am NOT dating him. No—Lightning Farron does not 'date' people. Especially a stranger—!"_

Blinking a few times as the thought processed through her mind, the expression on Light's face went from stunned to disgusted to many other colorful emotions as she threw her head back while slapping her hands onto her face, shouting in a fit of distress,

"Oh my god, I'm dating a complete stranger!" she yelled at herself, her hands gripping the top part of her forehead. She growled loudly before pulling her hands from her face, slowing turning her head to face the ocean.

The majestic roar of the crashing waves calmed her nerves to the marrow of her bones, and softened her piercing gaze to a serene state. After watching the soothing waters for a few seconds, the girl sighed before running a hand through her beautiful pink locks,

"Maybe I'm just glad to have met a surfer who isn't…arrogant."

Frowning with a furrowed brow, the twenty-one year old dropped her head to look at her feet, the salty waters of the sea washing over her toes. Her pink hair drooped like a willow tree's leaves as her crystal-blue eyes glared at the foamy water below her.

Suddenly, images of crashing waves and churning waters surrounding her filled her mind like an old scratched-up film. The sound of whipping torrents and desperate breathing quickly replaced with twisted silence and sickening gags repeated in her thoughts over and over. Bruised arms flailing and the color of blue and white flashing across her eyes as a watery scream echoed in the churning maelstrom. The dark abysmal blue fading into crimson…

The sound of a large wave crashing brought Lightning back into reality. She blinked a couple of times before sighing with annoyance and placing a hand over her face to cover the mixed emotions plaguing her face.

Finally pushing the images she just saw to the back of her mind, she looked up from the ground to see her blue, wooden beach-house sitting on the coast's edge, the lights inside completely off.

Smacking her face with her right hand with a groan, she slowly dragged it down her cheek as she realized what time it was.

"Serah…"

XXX

"Man, spiky. Didn't know you had it in ya'." Gadot laughed as he rocked back in his chair.

Cloud rubbed his forehead as he groaned in annoyance. He had attempted multiple times to convince the group around him that he was _not _dating the girl that had just left.

"Look. I just thought she was someone else."

"Like who?" Hope popped up from his seat to inch closer to the spiky-haired guy for an answer.

A blaze of bright blue flashed in the blonde's thoughts as his memories washed up onto the shores of his mind. A blue brighter than the sea, and as magnificent as the sky; a blue so wild—it glowed like fire.

"No one…" he whispered as his eyes averted in a daydreaming fashion.

Gadot only shook his head with a grin before standing to herd his gang back into the kitchen to clean up for closing time. Cloud and his own group remained seated in the rather comfortable chairs just as he was immediately swept away into his own thoughts.

Hope eyed his older friend curiously as he was rather interested in the situation at hand.

"So, what's her name?" the young teen asked as he dragged out the 'so' for emphasis

Without a single ounce of movement, Cloud replied in a deep mumble,

"Lightning."

Hope's face tilted like a dog's would as his face flushed with curiosity,

"_Lightning_? What an odd name."

"It's a name of trouble, that's for sure." Smacking his hand on the table, Reno's face began to blush from all the drinking he had taken part in. Hope growled back with his teeth bared in defense,

"Come on, Reno. The only trouble around here is the icecream hoarder I'm living with! Besides, it looks like Cloud's got a headstart." Hope remarked, making sure to give a good pinch of emphasis to the ending of the sentence.

The redhead's brow twitched with frustration as he glared at the younger boy, inching closer to him over the tabletop,

"What are you insinuating, Estheim?"

"Oh nothing… Just that Cloud's _going_, and you're not."

Reno and Hope were now nose to nose over the table as they glared at each other, but the ginger still felt a tad confused, since California speech wasn't in his dictionary. He turned his head to Vincent for some help on the American lingo,

"Oi, Vince. Translation?"

The dark-haired surfer sipped his drink gingerly before replying in a somber voice,

"You're single. Cloud's not."

"WHAAT?" Reno was speechless as he gaped at Cloud with his mouth hung open. He continued to spew out nonsense and stutters as Hope sighed in embarrassment.

"Dude, did you seriously just miss the whole point of this chapter—"

"How could this happen? How is it that 'dark and serious' over here has just topped the lady magnet? I-I-It can't be done!"

The shouting and crazed argument began to annoy Cloud as he was trying to focus and listen to the waves. Sighing with a frown, he turned to his friends and attempted to get their attention,

"Hey, guys."

"— I mean, really, who would want to date a guy with a ponytail?"

"People…"

"At least my hair doesn't make me look fifty years older!"

"Guys!"

More surprised by the fact that Cloud had just _shouted_, the group hushed as they turned their heads to face the angered blonde.

Realizing that he had gone too far out of his quiet zone, Cloud coughed into his fist before continuing his statement,

"_We're not dating_. She just wanted a tour of the island." Cloud said as he ran his fingers through the blonde spikes adorning his head.

"Score!" Reno fist-pumped with a smirk, earning him a good punch in the arm by Hope.

XXX

Lifting her feet up faster, and turning her pace into a jog, she jumped up the steps to her house before grabbing her keys out of her pocket to unlock the door. She turned them in the lock with a 'click', and took a breath before opening the door quietly. The hinges thankfully didn't creak too loudly as she slowly inched her way into the dark foyer and closed the door behind her, pulling the keys out of the door.

Sighing with relief, Light turned to walk down the hall before the light switched on.

Kneeling on the floor directly in front of her was Serah holding a large box of pudding in her hands up to the older girl's face with a scary grin on her face.

"Shi—Serah!" Light jumped back with her hands all over the place as she held back a scream.

Serah remained in her 'worshipping' position and spoke sweetly,

"I got you some Pudding!"

"Why did you just capitalize puddin—"

"I thought you might like some—do you want some?" she said with a huge, sincere smile as Lightning groaned,

"Serah, it's almost midnight"

"Hm?" Serah said as she took a moment to realize that it really was late.

Standing back onto two legs, the younger sister held the box of pudding in her arms as she looked at her sister with a squished up face,

"So where have you been? You smell like strawberries."

With another sigh, the older Farron pushed her way past the girl and pudding and headed towards the bedroom,

"I just took a walk down the beach and got a drink."

Serah began to trail her sister like a dog as she held the pudding in her arms like a baby,

"Oh, okay—hey, hey! Is that cologne I smell?" the eighteen-year old sang with a smirk as Lightning straightened her back in surprise.

"W-What? No…" the blue-eyed woman stuttered as she walked into her bedroom to change into her pajamas.

"Come on, what's he look like?"

"I was at a _bar_ Serah, there were a lot of guys."

"Oooh, getting it on in double digits~"

"T-That's not what I meant!"

The door slammed behind her as the older sister began to put on her matching pajama pants and top, and to hide her beet red face. Serah giggled before she leaned against the outside of the door,

"Just kidding."

Silence hovered between the two as Serah smiled softly, and Light sighed again.

"Did you get a number?"

"_Serah…_" Lightning growled in a dangerously low voice as she was about to pounce out the door and after her sister.

Serah sighed in slight disappointment, but grinned gleefully as she walked towards her own room,

"Fine, fine! Goodnight!"

"Night." She barked while brushing her teeth.

XXX

"Hey, Aussie-boys! We're closin' up shop." Gadot shouted as Lebreau, Yuj, and Maqui grabbed their bags and started to head home.

The four guys sitting at the table in the middle of the empty bar replied to the Mohawk-man with a few raised hands and 'okays'. Reno growled before grabbing his empty glass and heading towards the main bar, along with Hope, who continued his argument with the red-head as they walked away. Vincent and Cloud found themselves equally at peace for the first time that night as the bar music was soon cut off, and the sound of the waves crashing was the only sound echoing in the air.

"Why the sudden interest?"

Cloud groaned as he leaned forward in his chair, the dark-haired man still sipping his murky drink daintily.

"I told you," he muttered calmly. "It's not like that. I just thought she was—"

"I _know_ who you thought it was." Vincent set his drink down harshly as he interrupted the blonde surfer.

Cloud turned his head to face his long-time friend, surprise and confusion swimming in his cerulean eyes. Vincent slowly inclined towards the younger man, his eyes grim from his natural demeanor,

"I'm wondering why you went along with it. After you realized it wasn't her."

Both guys were face to face, their stern expressions mimicking each other in a serious fashion. Heaving a forced sigh out of his lungs, Cloud turned away and leaned back in his chair,

"I don't know."

Neither of the two spoke again, mostly because they began watching Hope and Reno fight over dating matters again as they shouted at the bar.

Vincent stood from his seat like a ghost, nearly inaudible before the clinking of his boots walked in front of the table he once sat at. He raised his left arm and opened his hand, causing a jingling sound to echo softly through the air. Because of the years of practice, Cloud spotted the small flash of silver in his peripheral vision that was propelling towards him as he raised his own hand to catch a pair of keys with ease. He turned his head to look up at the darker figure that handsomely popped his collar,

"You drive. I'll get the kids." And with that, Vincent had headed over to grab both 'kids' by the shirt collars to carry them away. He said his goodbyes to the others while the two boys he restrained still tried to swat at each other despite their position over the ground.

Cloud watched them with a steady face, but it slowly averted its gaze to the beach the girl from earlier had walked down.

The keys flew up into the air with a ringing sound before the blonde snatched them in midair like a hawk's merciless talons.

XXX

_**Star Stealing Girl from Chrono Cross_

With every light around turned off, and the roll of the ocean waves the only sound resonating along the sandy shores, the ocean hummed in slumber as its company did as well. No gulls sang in the sky, and even the wind had softened its bluster for the moonlit night.

The airy silence was then interrupted by the sound of smushed sand. Followed by another similar sound, a pair of small feet paced across the shoreline of the beach, every step causing wet sand to ooze between the person's toes. Finally, the person halted, and the sound of the waves returned to their dominant rise in the night's ambience.

Something in the human's grasp sparkled in the starry night sky, and suddenly the figure crouched on the edge of the water. Salty liquid rolled over their feet and up to their ankles, and as quickly as the waves had washed over the sand, they receded like a cowardice creature.

Lowering its hands daintily to the water, the small fingers of the beholder released their grasp on the rounded object it once held.

The item sunk into the sand before the wave came once again and threatened to knock it over, but once it ran away as before, the glassy object lifted from the sand's grasp and floated away.

Standing quietly, the person remained rooted in the sands below, watching the note it had written drift away in the safety of its vessel.

The sound of footsteps followed, before the beach was once again vacant in the warm summer night's presence. Waves crashed beneath the half eaten moon sitting high and proud in the sky, Silence rolling in with the tide.

* * *

><p>First off, did ya' catch the joke with the place Lightning works at? (I totally gigglesnorted)<p>

I named the titled after I counted every single time I wrote the word 'sigh' : 14 times! Man, I need some variety xD

ANYWAY! I hope you all enjoyed another chapter of _Electric Blue_. Reviews are much appreciated, as I love hearing from all of you :D

Until next time... :3


	5. Chapter 5

*GASPIES* IT'S ALLIIIIIVVVVEEEE!

*aherm*, it's good to be back ^_^

Honestly, I'm just going to say this right now... I missed you guys ;_; - How've you been?

Also! I have started a new fanfiction (ohhellyesidid). It's a** Brother Bear** fic because we all know that archive needs more love. It's not as fun as this one, but check it out if you want! **.net/s/7474665/1/Id_Give_Anything**

Alright, so now that that's out of the way, we're back in business! HOWEVER! I will not be writing during the whole month of November. For those of you who can guess why, yes, it is for NaNo (National Novel Writing Month). Anyway, I hope you like the very greatly delayed fifth chapter of _Electric Blue_!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of SE, nor the sport of surfing. This fanfiction is merely for entertainment purposes, and not for general profit.** Thank you!

* * *

><p><em>Chapter V: Three Poor Mirrors<em>

As the gulls cried over the crashing waves from their morning wake, the Farron household had already begun to stir out of its deep slumber and rise to a bright sunny day… with unexpected delays, of course.

"Geez, Serah, you've been brushing your teeth for almost ten minutes! I'm sure they're as white as pearls by now." Lightning's eyebrow began to twitch as she stood outside the bathroom door impatiently, her foot tapping the hardwood floor mercilessly.

"Sowwy, Sis. Jus' a few mo' minuz…" the sound of scrubbing and water running accompanied the slurred voice as the young Farron brushed her teeth furiously.

Sighing with a begrudged look on her face, the elder sister leaned against the door with an impatient aura hovering around her head. Minutes passed before her patience snapped,

"Alright, that is it!" Giving the bathroom door a nice kick, it swung open viciously to reveal a smaller girl with ravishing pink hair pulling a string through her teeth.

Lightning's eyes sealed shut as all the anger in her body exploded,

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm _flossing_."

She gripped the hair on her own head before screaming crossly,

"Graaaah! Get out!" the older girl roared as she literally chased the flosser out of the bathroom like a dog, slamming the door as soon as the girl was out.

Serah quickly bounded into the other room to grab her toast, which popped up out of the toaster right as she ran by it. She threw the string into the trash, and replaced it with the toast with a verbal bite. The bag with her camera that hung by the door on a hook quickly found itself swung over the girl's shoulder before she grabbed the knob of the front door,

"Bye, Sis! Have a good day at work—" the door closed just as she finished the sentence. The sound of a bike pedaling off echoed softly from the door.

Lightning walked into the hallway with a toothbrush in her mouth as she blankly stared at the door,

"Bye…?" her eyes blinked a couple of times before she shrugged it off and continued to scrub.

"_Well folks, looks like the cat's outta the bag. For weeks, the crowd has been begging: 'where will the ASP World Tour be held this year?', and the news is here! ASP will be hosted right in the outback of N.S. Wales—I repeat, New South Wales, surfers! Looks like you better start packing your bags because all of us here at the station will be headin' down to Aussie to give you the report—"_

The television went black as Lightning pressed the power button on the remote. Her eyes flickered subconsciously before she threw the remote back on the couch, a sigh escaping her dainty lips.

XXX

"Dude, did you have to bring the _icecream_?" Hope groaned as he eyed the taller red-head, who was peeling the plastic wrap off of his _Sea Salt Icecream_.

"Come on, Hope! The flavor's my mojo." Following his boasting scoff, Reno gave a loud lick to the popsicle before walking faster towards the bar.

Hope slowed to a stop as his shoulders sagged with realization and embarrassment,

"Who in Cocoon's name am I living with?"

Watching with unamused eyes, the sixteen year old could only sigh as Reno kissed the popsicle passionately.

A synchronized beep emitted from a black jeep wrangler as Vincent clicked the lock button on his keys. He then put them in his pocket with a huff and headed after the two with a slow stride, the ocean breeze lightly brushing through his crazy black mane.

His crimson eyes gazed out at the beautiful blue waves, their white foam looking like clouds on water as they rolled over and over in the forever spinning tubes. Suddenly, a board appeared over a dawning wave followed by a raven-haired surfer crouched on the surface and ready to drop. Raising her hands in the air for balance, the tan woman snaked into the wave's side pulling a left-hander with incredible grace before the blue around her began to form a stunning tube.

Vincent watched emotionlessly, but inside he was impressed. The rider clearly knew what she was doing, and following her barrel, she swiftly jerked the board downward and back up towards the top of the wave. Grabbing the edge of her board much like a skateboarder would, she flew off the top of the wave with the spray tailing her exit, her other hand extended like an eagle's wing as she 'surfed the sky' in aerial grace. After what seemed like minutes, the wave crashed into a roll as time appeared to speed up increasingly, and the surfer landed back into the water with a splash.

The dark haired man stood still as the wave came to a finish with an enormous crash,

"Whoa."

"Okay, okay, but seriously. What the heck are we doing out here, man! I thought we were supposed to meet the rest of the crew—"

"We are, but _you're _supposed to meet them sober. They've got some friends from Aussie in town. They're girls, Reno, so…behave yourself—"

"Pssh, like I need to. If there's one thing in Australia that I don't miss, it's the girls. I mean talk about fussy! They're never happy, and you're never enough for them! Plus they're usually hideous—and I mean bum-ugly," the red-head continued to rant while flailing his dessert around.

Hope was actually tuning in for once, since the topic might come in handy in the near future. '_You never know, girls can be crazy' _he thought as Reno continued on, but right as the thought passed through his head, a couple of people walked up to the two, but the ranting ginger continued to squawk,

"Rule numero uno, man! Don't be fooled by their cute charm! It's a total trap, I'm telling you. You gotta just push the hot stuff away and say—"

The red head turned around to face the person who now stood in front of him, and had to blink a few times before trying to register the image again. Standing a few inches shorter than him was a fair skinned girl with sweet strawberry hair in low pigtails and the most dazzling emerald eyes he had ever seen. Wearing a short, pink cover-up skirt with a white bikini top on, her thin body displayed her curves finely, but almost like a teenager, not an adult. With a wide assortment of accessories ranging from necklaces to earrings, the girl was certainly a fashionista, but modest in a sensible manner. Reno's mouth slowly dropped open as it attempted to speak,

"_Hi._" The word barely came out of his mouth as he stared into her sparkling eyes.

Her curious face quickly changed to a rather cheerful one in the blink of an eye as she straightened up cutely,

"Well hi there." She said as she grinned a wide and sunny smile.

Lifting his right hand to his mouth to give a lick to his popsicle, the redhead abruptly stopped as the icecream reached the outside of his mouth. Staring at the female ginger, Reno saw a reflection of himself as the Australian girl had in her right hand her own _Sea Salt Icecream_. Both surfers gaped at each other in awe, unaware of the group of people watching them in silence and amusement.

The other girl had cropped, raven hair and an outfit that certainly gave her character. A white and blue board was propped up under her arm as she placed a hand on her hip,

"You must be Hope. I'm Lebreau." She stuck a hand out with a grin.

"Yeah, and the _idiot_ here is Reno." Hope took her hand and shook it daintily before pulling back with a smile.

"I guessed as much." The girl laughed before glancing behind the silver-haired teen to spot Vincent walking up, causing an expected smirk to roll onto her face.

Catching her gaze with his own crimson eyes, Vince paused in his trek to raise a hand in 'hello' before continuing his slow and steady pace.

"Hurry up slowpoke! Everyone's waiting at the bar." She called out to him as she began to turn around and walk back down the beach.

Hope waved at Vincent before turning to follow the raven-haired girl, quickly grabbing Reno's arm to pull him away from the charming Aussie girl. The red head bawled in frustration as the ginger girl giggled at the sight and joined the three with a boisterous skip. Vincent only sighed from a distance and continued at his fixed pace.

XXX

With the sun beating down on the upmost of the northern beaches, most of its inhabitants were lounging under the welcoming shade offered to them by shelter or sea palms, including the gang at the bar. Gadot and the boys were chatting lazily across the deck with a fan blowing gingerly on a bar shelf, while Snow was spending the majority of his time fixing his hair in front of a mirror. Cloud was the only non-gang member there, but he was still welcome as always, staring out at the sea with calm blue eyes as usual.

The sound of footsteps on the sandy, wooden deck called the attention of everyone in the open-air bar, which led to a burst of greetings and lazy shouts,

"Leb', girl, what took you so long?" Gadot said as he reclined back in a chair with a smirk.

"Don't look at me fire-man, these guys were slowin' me down." She said with a laugh before leaping over the counter to grab a soda.

Hope and Reno quickly engaged their odd 'twins', Maqui and Yuj with play-wrestling and laughter, while Vanille skipped up to the spiky blonde in the back.

Approaching carelessly, and with a large grin playing on her face, she threw her arms over the railing facing the ocean blue right next to Cloud,

"How's she doing out there?" her cute voice slurred with an Australian accent as she put a hand over her brow for shade.

Cloud continued to watch the rather large barrels roll in, the dark-haired surfer continuing her streak,

"Good. Still having trouble with the drop, though." As if on cue from Cloud's comment, the surfer fell off the board in mid dive, finding herself crashing into the water with the board right behind her.

Vanille's happy face faltered for a moment, shifting into a sad pout, but the countenance disappeared immediately once the surfer was back up and heading towards shore.

"Thanks, Spiky!" she said before bounding off to greet the tan woman.

Cloud smirked before a large crash caused him to break his concentration,

"God—Snow! That's the third mirror this morning!" Lebreau shouted from the bar counter with glass shards scattered everywhere on the ground.

"Sorry, Leb'," he sighed from his bar seat, "I'm just nervous…"

Leb let out a long exhale as she patted the burly man's back,

"Geez, what am I going to do with you?" she stopped her sincere patting for a moment as her eyes suddenly drifted down to the floor where the glass remained like mines, and then her eyes made their way to Snow with a glare,

"Well, you can start by cleaning up this mess."

Snow's face fell into his hands as Lebreau threw a broom at him.

XXX

The wind rushed through her pink locks of hair as Serah pedaled towards the bar she had been told of, a smile playing on her dainty, pink lips. She was excited to see Snow and his friends, but the anxiety of surfing plagued the back of her mind terribly: the repeating image of her rolling in the abysmal funnel set on replay in her head. But she quickly shook the thought off as a wave crashed to her right. The beach began to form on her right side while she rode her blue bike on the vacant road that was grandly decorated by green, tropical scenery, and in the distance an inactive volcano rose up out of the waves miles off the coast.

A small palmwood-fashioned structure appeared off of the water, connected to a sandy parking lot and the beach all in one. Its roof was made up of dried palm leaves, and fastened to its outside deck were unlit tiki torches all carved with their own unique designs.

"That must be the place—" she said before pulling her bike into the parking lot that was only inhabited by three vehicles and a massive, onyx motorcycle. She parked her bike next to a worn down beach fence and tied it to a small pipe nearby before cautiously heading towards the inviting beach shelter.

XXX

Everyone continued to chat in their divided groups before the sound of small footsteps made their way onto the wooden steps. Nobody noticed except Snow, who was already on edge with sweeping the floor, and as the thin teen made her way into the bar quietly a large, beaming smile racked his face. Jogging over to her gently with the broom, the blonde placed a hand behind his head as the younger girl smiled back gingerly,

"Hey."

"Hello." Her voice was so soft and delicate compared to the giant's naturally huge bellow.

Silence ensued as the two blushed at what to say next before Snow realized he was still holding the broom.

"I should probably introduce you—" he said while tossing the broom behind him only to smack Maqui square in the face.

"S-Sure." The eighteen year old tried to compose herself after her inevitable stutter before following beside him over to the others.

Lebreau was the first (next to Maqui) to figure something was up as she turned her head to spot the younger girl walking alongside the blonde surfer. A sweet grin appeared on her face before she nimbly jumped out of her chair to greet the pink-haired girl,

"So you're the poor girl Snow threw in the barrel."

"Leb—" Snow groaned before being glared at by the bartender.

"Chillax, boss-man. Just trying to defuse the tension." She said with an utmost level of sass before she once again faced the younger girl in front of her.

"Don't you worry sweetie! If he ever bothers you we'll always be here for you." And with that, the raven-haired girl led Serah over to the others leaving a bewildered Snow silently watching with a wide, open mouth.

XXX

Serah had sat down daintily on one of the bar stools as everyone crowded around with questions and kind comments. Gadot, on the other hand, headed over to the blonde surfer who continued to sweep the glass, since talking to Serah was near impossible right now.

"Hey man, why so glum?" he said as he placed a hand on the burly boss's shoulder.

"Come on Gadot, I'm totally fine!" he laughed before pumping his muscles humorously. "Just glad everyone's behaving themselves."

Hearing someone walk behind him, Snow turned his head questioningly to see Cloud approaching quietly,

"Hey, Spiky, what's up?" The burly man inquired before setting the broom on his shoulders.

"What's the uproar about; is the bar already open?" he asked while trying to catch a glance of the figure amongst the swarm at the bar.

Snow laughed before replying, "Nah, we're closed during the day, but Serah's over with the crowd."

"Serah?" Cloud tilted his head back to look at Snow, his eyes reflecting the curiosity swarming in his mind.

Snow opened his mouth to speak again, but as the words reached his tongue the spiky-haired surfer had already walked past him towards the crowd. The two burly surfers turned their heads to watch the blonde questioningly.

A cute giggle escaped the pink-haired girl's dainty lips as Maqui began to tease about Yuj's hair color and his feminine style, yet her face paused in its action as she came face to face with a familiar spiky-haired man.

Noticing that Serah's attention was deterred, the others in the gang began to avert their views as well to see what it was that caught the girl's eyes, which led to a slow silence amongst the crowd. Looking directly into each other's blue eyes, the two stared at each other for a moment of confusion before they both pointed at each other with shocked faces,

"Pudding!" they both shouted as they exchanged mixed expressions: Serah's being excited and surprised, while Cloud's was more confused and in a state of denial that this was actually happening.

Everyone, other than the two, slowly turned their heads to Snow with half-glares and half-"explain yourself" looks. Snow put his hands up in defense and threw out a "What?" before they returned their gazes to the main characters.

"I thought I'd never have the proper chance to thank you for saving me." Serah said as a wide grin spread across her face.

"Well, I'm just glad you're still in one piece, after what you said about your sister…"

Serah laughed at Cloud's response and began bouncing her hand in the air in a carefree manner,

"Nah, all is well, dear spikey warrior. She came home in a _really _good mood, so I got out of it."

"Glad to hear—"

Cloud sighed as he smiled sweetly at the young girl, unaware of a sly burly hand sneaking up to grab his shoulder as Snow's head came beside him,

"Aaaaand I'm glad to hear that we all know each other."

Snow gave a warning with his eyes to prevent anymore flirting between the two, but the other blonde merely shot a confused look to the surfer. As his eyes looked at Snow's frustrated yet smiling face, his gaze shifted from his face to the watch affixed on the man's wrist now wresting on his shoulder. Quickly pulling out his phone, Cloud checked the time again before snapping the device shut and kindly pushed his way through the crowd. He broke into a jog as he met the sands of the beach before the sound of Gadot's voice caught his ears,

"Where you headin' Spikes?" the Mohawk man shouted with an edge of confusion in his tone.

The blonde tuned around to wave his hand at the group before calling back in a less loud voice, "I have a tour in a few minutes."

After the words soared out of his mouth, Cloud continued his jog and hopped onto the colossal motorcycle in the parking lot.

Everyone stood in place as the enormous roar of the engine sounded as the blonde started the machinery and rode off at an incredible speed.

"O—kay…?" Lebreau managed to mumble as the rest of the gang were still pondering what just happened.

Footsteps sounded from the back of the bar like a quiet warning, and the smell of the wild ocean began to emanate throughout the wooden structure. Serah turned her head to spot two women approaching the group at a brazen pace,

"So, you're the gal who decided she was gonna start surfin' kings on day one, eh?"

A tall, tan, and rather attractive woman sung as she dried her dark hair with a towel before throwing the fabric on a chair. Wearing nothing but a black bikini, she continued her walk while tying a see-through sari around her waist.

Snow stood in front of Serah as he spoke in a cautionary voice, "Fang, relax, it was my fault. Don't throw the blame on her—"

"Going to get herself killed, s'all I'm sayin'. Specially from hangin' round you, Villiers." The twenty-one year old passed the rest of the group before striding down the front of the bar's steps,

"I need to wash this ocean off'a me…" she said before continuing her walk along the shoreline to the main beach where the showers were

"Fang—" Vanille sighed, her voice filled with worry before she turned to face the new girl. A smile replaced the bothered frown as she bounced over to the girl,

"Sorry about that. She's had a rough summah', but don't worry! She'll warm up to you sooner or later." Vanille interlaced her hands behind her back as she bent forward cutely.

Serah managed a weak smile at the kind Aussie girl before a pair of goggles came into her vision,

"Don't listen to her, Serah. You'll be a great surfer!" Maqui chimed in as Snow came up from behind the group and randomly handed Serah a board.

"Lesson starts in five." He joked before shifting the other board under his arm.

Serah hesitated in taking the large gun board in front of her, but finally gripped its edges gingerly before giving snow a sweet smirk.

His face turning red from the girl's cute smile, Snow quickly scratched the back of his head before offering his hand out to gesture he to go first towards the beach.

Hopping out of her seat with the blue and orange board awkwardly in her arms, she looked up at Snow before they both began to make their way off the deck of the bar.

Yuj and Maqui catcalled childishly as Gadot merely smirked and Lebreau shouted after the two,

"Don't get her hurt, you big oaf!"

"Good luck, Serah!" Vanille sung behind the other girl's voice as she waved cutely.

Serah turned around and smiled at the gang that was whooping and hollering, giving them a sweet smile and a gentle wave of the hand.

XXX

"What_ are_ you doing?"

Sazh leaned over the board he was working on to speak to the twenty-one year old…who was rubbing her arm furiously with board wax. White streaks stretched across her arm over what appeared to be a darker color.

"I got paint on my skin, and I'm trying to get it off." She growled before rubbing even faster.

Sazh sighed before stepping out of his work-area,

"You sure that'll work, Farron?"

"It better!"

After smacking her arm with the round wax a few more times, she threw the container over her shoulder and poured water onto her skin with a pitcher next to her. The water washed away the wax and with it the paint as well. A smirk appeared on the woman's face while an astonished expression plagued the older man,

"You've got to be kidding me—"

"Told you wax was magic." She sung as she picked up the previously used pitcher and headed over to the wooden sink with it.

"Oh yeah, like that time you tried to use it to make your hair shinier than the blazing sun."

Lightning stopped dead in her tracks with a startled look on her face, the shock causing her to almost drop the pitcher entirely. Her shoulders drooped and her face began to sink downward,

"Sazh, I thought we already talked about this…" the younger woman sighed before filling the pitcher in the sink.

"Hey, it was a good story!"

"_WAS _Sazh,_ was._"

Watching her with troubled eyes, Sazh quickly shook off the subject as Light began to put a tad bit of mascara on her eyelashes.

"Hmph, anyway, what are you getting all pretty for now?"

"I'm going into town."

"Oh, okay—" Sazh turned to grab another board before her actions actually processed in his mind as he then spun around to inquire his hermit of an employ,

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait, what?"

She stroked a comb casually through her hair as Sazh gaped at her with his mouth wide open.

"Girl, you haven't been in town since the last time you were in the ocean! It's been months!"

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" she groaned before putting her stuff away in a quick hiding spot.

"_Why am I making such a fuss…_" the afro-haired man mumbled as he threw his hands up in the air in defense.

The sound of a large engine roared outside the large surf-hut causing the gulls to caw in response. Sazh looked out one of the makeshift windows of the shack to see a huge motorcycle parking on the nearby road, and on it a well-toned man with blonde-spiked hair.

Raising an eyebrow conspicuously, Sazh smirked before turning back to his work,

"You sure know how to pick'em."

Lightning groaned audibly as she began to put her stuff away,

"Lay off, old timer, he's just giving me a tour."

"Sure, sure…" The older man cooed humorously.

Huffing at the man, Light proceeded with grabbing her phone and wallet to stuff in her shorts' pockets. Giving a quick wave to her boss, she headed out the open entrance of the shack and into the bright atmosphere of the beautiful sandy beach. Taking a hand to her forehead, she blocked the vibrant rays of sunlight that made her ice blue eyes literally sparkle like the ocean's waters. Her medium tan skin and light-pink tresses stood out amongst the bright sands under her feet and the cerulean sky above, but somehow the young woman blended in with the tropical world around her as if she had always belonged to the waves of the sea.

A darker smudge appeared in her eyes' peripheral vision causing her to lower her hand and give a light exhale of breath. Swiveling her head slowly to gaze at the figure, her eyes soon came in contact with a pair of swimming blue pools that sparkled just like hers. The man's blond hair blew lightly in the ocean breeze and his stern face caught her attention immediately. Her thoughts constantly had to remain in check as she soon found herself more silent than ever,

'_Amazing how different someone looks during the day…'_

Silence passed before the two before a haze of awkwardness set in leading to the mumble of a cough the man produced,

"You ready?" he spoke while glancing downward at the younger woman.

"Yeah." Her quick answer surprised the blonde as she walked past him and towards the bike.

* * *

><p>*sniff* I missed writing this story :')<p>

Hope this fulfilled all of you lovely readers' patient waiting.

**I want to thank EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU who have taken the time to read and review this crazy fic. It literally means the world to me :D. Thank you so much, and I hope to finish this work for you all~**

Thank you, and until next time...


	6. Chapter 6

IT'S THANKSGIVING BREAK! WHOOOOO! I'll probably update again, oh I don't know, this WEEK. Yes, I finally have time to write, and I'm enjoying every minute of it :)

Hope you guys like this little catch-up chapter.

This chapter and the next is for all my LightxCloud lovers ;3 the next chapter is ALL THEM x3333

**THANK YOU EVERYONE SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS!** My GoD yOu AlL aRe HiLaRiOuS~ They make my day shine like the sun's having a rave or sumthin 3

But anywho, here's the next chapter! Hope you like it! R&R if you want! I LOVE Y'ALL! :D

**DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy and its property, characters, and themes all belong to SE! I only own my story and OC's. Hawaii owns itself~**

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><p><em><span>Chapter VI: Cool Blue Rides<span>_

The sun beat down on the landscape of the tropical island mercilessly, but the coastal breeze eased the blazing heat like a cool glass of water. And speaking of water, the beach was the place to be on a day like this with the waves rising high and far, surfers and bikinis spotting the white sandy shores. No matter where you went on this beautiful day, it was crowded.

Serah and Snow walked along a coastline completely shaded by the tall beach palms of Oahu, while the also tall man carried two colorful, longboards under his arms. Unlike the other beaches around the island, this one was utterly deserted.

"So, where are we heading?" Serah managed to squeak as the awkward silence placed her under pressure.

A grin spread across the giant's face as he continued his pace forward,

"The Yaschas Cove. It's a local spot, so few people should be there."

"Oh," the young girl chimed as happiness rushed to her fingertips. "At least I won't be able to embarrass myself." She gave a soft laugh after hopping over some washed up driftwood.

"Hey, you'll be pro-surfing material in no time under my instruction!" Snow boasted in a lame attempt to 'flirt'.

Serah put on a pretend-pouting face as she began to walk backwards so she could talk to the huge guy,

"It was under _your_ instruction that I wiped out in the first place." After smirking, she pivoted right back around and walked a little bit faster leaving Snow with his mouth open and speechless.

"When you put it that way, I feel terrible…" he groaned with a sigh, his blonde hair falling in his eyes.

Honestly, Serah didn't mean to actually upset the guy, so she turned around once more with her hands up in defense. The nervous stutter from before returning as she blushed,

"H-Hey! It's totally fine. Besides, I should've just been honest with you."

A swift pain suddenly shot through his arm as Serah punched him with a scowl on her face.

"Geez—" he hissed gently, turning to look at the girl.

She was still looking forward, but her brows had furrowed, her fist slowly pulling away from the impact zone.

"Stop being so serious." She giggled while sticking her tongue out at the blonde.

She skipped forward a bit leaving Snow to smirk at the girl.

"Some punch she's got…" he laughed sharply while rubbing his pulsing arm.

XXX

Seagulls cried above the shore as they rode the crisp airstreams rolling in from the ocean breeze. Lightning and Cloud finally arrived at the sandy lot where the enormous, onyx motorcycle lied in wait like a good loyal hound.

"How are you?" was all Cloud could manage as his gentleman side fought for dominance.

"Fine, thanks." Her words were a lot softer than they had been the night before, giving the guy a bit of confidence as he reached down into his pocket.

Cloud pulled out his keys with a jingling tune as he threw over his left leg to mount the large vehicle. He straightened up on the seat and turned to look at the Lightning, who was standing with her arms crossed an emotionless look on his face. Feelings of awkwardness and thoughts resembling _'holy maker, that bike is huge!'_ swarmed her calm blue eyes, but of course Cloud couldn't tell what she was thinking. No one ever could.

Realization instantly struck the spiky blonde, causing him to become solemnly flustered as Cloud soon found a problem of where his 'friend' would be able to sit, and the pink-haired woman sighed quietly, since she too could tell what was wrong. Without any words passed between the two, Lightning huffed in a breath before mounting the bike behind the driver with a confident glow on her face. Flicking her head as a gust of wind blew through her hair, Light leaned to her left to look at Cloud, a questioning eyebrow raised. Surprised by the girl's bold actions, a small grin made its way onto the surfer's face before he grabbed his black goggles from one of the many compartments. Lightning began to shift uncomfortably while gently gripping the leather seat-space between her and Cloud, not knowing exactly what was going to happen on this haul of a machine.

Grabbing a black clutch with one hand, the spiky haired man released the kick-stand and supported the bike with his two feet as he drove the key into the socket. With a quick twist, the monster roared to life and began to rumble a melodious tune. Cloud was used to people jumping or shouting in surprise when his bike awoke from its slumber, but as he gave a quick glance over his shoulder he noticed the girl hadn't even flinched! It almost appeared as if she didn't notice the vehicle was on, an impatient look adorning her pretty features.

Cloud turned his head forward as a small grin painted on his face.

He revved up the bike and _gently_ (can't be too rough with the girls) drove out onto the beach-strewed road. All the while Lightning was cursing to herself in a mental fit,

'_Why the hell am I here? What am I doing? How does his hair stay like that?'_

XXX

_*Take You to Rio – Ester Dean*_

The hip and beachy buildings of _The_ _Village _rolled along like they were on a conveyer belt as the motorcycle drove at a moderate speed down the road. Cars of all shapes and sizes were out and about as well. Most were open Jeeps and convertible-styled vehicles, all of which made Cloud's bike stand out. Crowds of people littered the streets, but what caught Lightning's eye was how they all seemed about the same age: eighteen to the mid-twenties. As if Cloud had read her thoughts, he spoke over the hum of the bike as it coasted around a corner,

"There's a university nearby—makes the area around here really popular."

"That would explain the noise."

"Yeah," Cloud laughed half-heartedly, not liking the clamor either. "At least it brings good food and surfers to the town."

"Hm." Light hummed as she continued to take in the scenery flashing by her. She wasn't quite sure where her driver was going, but honestly, neither did he. They passed by the beach overhead, which gazed out towards the populated beaches filled with surfers and umbrellas, and with the hot summer sun filling the city with energy everyone was out today. _Everyone_, much to Lightning's dislike. She was never too fond of crowds, no matter how nice they were.

Suddenly everything went dark as they drove through a large road tunnel. The girl peered her eyes to see the small opening of light growing larger by the second finally opening up to reveal the larger, more city side of the region.

As Cloud drove closer to the inner part of _The Village_, he slowed down to fit into the traffic, but also to let Lightning get a good view of all of the beach bars and coffee shops, which were all filled to the brim with every kind of college student.

The palm trees and constant view of the ocean set the scene with the immense groups of adults, but it was the ever so popular image of the tan, thin, twenty-year-old, blonde chick that made Lightning cringe,

'_How can someone go out in public with shorts that short? I mean really, are they ASKING to get attacked? And seriously, put a shirt on! No one wants to see your huge, fake, plastic—'_

The car roared forward interrupting the blue-eyed woman's thoughts and sending her backwards a bit from the force. Instinctively, she reached forward and grabbed the blonde driver and held his black sleeveless shirt with a tight grip. The two blushed, realizing what just happened and how close they were; a pink hue coated Cloud's face without much expressional change, but Lightning's face went beet red, her eyes shooting open,

"*AHERM*" she coughed loudly as she promptly removed her arms from around his frontal abs, returning her hold to the seat space in front of her.

"You alright—?"

"Fine." She cut his words off sharply as she pouted to herself, her eyes closed in embarrassment.

Cloud grinned softly as he turned his head a bit to talk to the blushing passenger,

"You know, it's okay if you want to—"

"Eyes on the road, spikey." She grabbed the top of his head and swiveled it back to face the road he was still driving on.

XXX

"Aaaand we're here."

Dropping the boards to the sandy ground, Snow stood proudly with a hand on his hip and one blocking the sun from his view of the empty bay.

Serah quietly made her way next to the tall giant as she gazed out at the beautiful clear water. The shore was completely shaded by the beach 'jungle' that grew so close to the sandy break, and not one other surfer could be seen in sight.

"Wow, we really have it all to ourselves…" she mumbled, suddenly blushing as she realized she would be alone with the handsome surfer.

She turned her head towards Snow only to 'eep' in surprise as he was in the process of removing his top, revealing a well-toned chest and mid-section. Turning beet-red, another thought rolled into the girl's mind: alone with a really attractive surfer…in only a bikini.

She gulped.

'_I don't get it! I was in my bathing suit yesterday with him half-naked and I didn't feel embarrassed then, so why am I acting so childish now? Geeeez, this is going to be a long lesson—'_

"Hey Serah!"

Squeaking upon hearing his loud voice, Serah looked to see Snow was already up to his calves in the water.

"You coming? Don't tell me you don't know how to swim!" he smirked, earning himself a glare from the young woman.

"I swim fine, thank you very much!" Serah pouted, biting her lower lip.

She sighed in defeat as she sheepishly removed her clothes to reveal a pure white bikini that fit her curves gingerly.

Snow smiled as he looked the other way to give her privacy, but an odd flash caused him to blink and swivel his head to find the source of the white light. Holding the huge camera in her hands, Serah grinned behind the big black lens of the instrument before putting it back down onto her pile of clothes.

Water splashed around her as she tried her best to run towards him, finally having to slow to a walk in the knee-high water. Well, knee-high for Serah, calf-high for Snow.

The blue-eyed girl first glanced at the board and then up at the beanie-headed guy who was still grinning. He bent down to her, his face dangerously close to hers, which sent the girl into a dizzy-fit. He slowly moved in closer, and Serah's thoughts went crazy,

'_Oh my god, he can't be serious. Is this really happening? Am I dreaming? I can't be dreaming—Sis wouldn't let me sleep in this late. What do I do? Wait. Think. Of. Something. Umm, pudding! Chocolate pudding! Wait, no—Strawberry pudding—!' _

"Wanna a shot of my good side?" Snow purred while stroking the left side of his stubbly cheek bone.

Opening her tightly closed eyes, Serah found herself looking at Snow's left-side profile as the man smirked deviously. She could have sworn she saw sparkles dancing around the oaf's face.

Clenching her fists with a growl, the girl let loose another punch, this time not holding back

A smack sounded as her knuckles came in contact with the 'beautiful' cheek bone,

"_You jerk_!" she snarled as Snow flung back a bit from the brutal attack.

"Hey! That was my good side—" Snow whined as he cradled his cheek.

"Not anymore it isn't!"

The sound of seagulls crying echoed overhead while the waters lapped sweetly against the shoreline.

* * *

><p>D'aaaawwwwww I missed you guys :'C<p>

It really means the world to me when all of you leave those comical and sweet reviews. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT 33333. I can't wait to get working on this story again, because it is getting COLD here in the mainland xD

**Hope you all have a wonderful ThanksGiving!**

Until Next Time... :3


	7. Chapter 7

**WHY HELLO THAR! I MISSED YOU GUISSSEEEE!**

Honestly, I think the muse for this story smacked me in my sleep because I've been up since two writing it :O. IT'S CRAZY HURR~

Here is the horribly late update (AND THE LONGEST CHAPTER) of ELECTRIC BLUE, and finally some plotlines are formed, some secrets are revealed-it's madness here in Oahu :B

PSSSST, there's more LightxCloud in this one by popular demand ;3

_THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS! They were so heartwarming, and I can't thank you all enough to know I have such support for my silly story :) Thanks everyone x3_

Okay! Quick notes: I laid off the humor a bit in this chapter, only because I wanted to introduce the main storyline clearly and seriously. Though the story will remain very comical, the fanfic will have its more somber moments. Just a heads up :). And also, I apologise if it seems like Lightning is a mute and Cloud talks more than usual. Take this in mind-Lightning is not used to being out and being with other people, thus her quiet nature; Cloud in this fanfic has not endured the horrible events that he has in the final fantasy series. I pictured using the "Cloud" personality when he was in Crisis Core before and when he met Zack, not after (I won't spoil anything). He was actually pretty social, believe it or not before he turned all angsty! *gaspies* That is all~

PS: PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF YAMS listen to the song near the end of the chappy! It is the most perfect music for the scene, and it's just so beautiful Dx. Here is the link - http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=Sa_VJceQBuE&list=PLAD03279BEC6BE7D0&index=6&feature=plcp - Thanks :3

**DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy and its property, characters, and themes all belong to SE! I only own my story and OC's. Hawaii owns itself~**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter VII: Two Inches of Glass<em>

"So you're telling me you work at a surfboard shack, fix boards, and _make _boards!… but you don't actually surf?"

"Yup."

The two blue-eyed people had situated themselves at a moderately crowded café in town, sipping on delicious cool smoothies. They each sat in comfortable chairs under a red and yellow umbrella covering their glass table, but few words of actual consideration had passed between them. Both had no intentions of being on an actual 'date', and so chatting was much easier and less nerve-wracking…so far, that is.

Cloud set his drink down before leaning over the table a bit to speak,

"Where did you learn everything about boards then?" he inquired, honestly curious about the woman's knowledge.

Lightning reclined in response,

"Sazh. My boss. He used to be a pro apparently."

As she finished her sentence, a dark-haired waiter came up and asked how the two customers were, Cloud giving an honest grin and replying earnestly, while Light grunted in a passive manner, averting her eyes from the man. Cloud caught a glimpse of the odd behavior from the girl and became curious, but he quickly shoved the suspicion out of his spiky-haired head assuming he had misread her actions.

"If you have no interest in surfing," Cloud asked while tasting his vanilla smoothie. "Why work around it?"

"Honestly, I feel like I'm being interrogated—"

"I feel like a creep asking you all of these things."

Light took a sip of her drink before rolling out of her slouch and over the table, placing her elbows on the table bringing her close to the blonde's brilliant blue eyes.

"Then let's hear about you instead, Strife. Do _you_ surf?" she added the end part with a teasing smirk, trying her best to give Cloud a taste of his own medicine before she slouched back into the chair.

"Well, yeah, but it's just a hobby."

"I've heard that one before."

Cloud laughed softly before putting a hand up in defense.

"One last 'creepy' question—"

Lightning waited lazily with an eyebrow raised, unsure of his intent.

"If you don't want anything to do with surfing, what are you doing in one of the biggest surf capitals of the world?" He said as he drank his smoothie.

Lightning went quiet for a moment.

"Honestly?"

She sighed, gazing off in one direction.

"People leave you alone out here. You could have luggage carrying Maker knows what, have records covered in black and blue, an enormous amount of fame, or maybe nothing at all—and no one cares."

Cloud stared at the pink-haired woman inquisitively. He definitely hadn't expected a serious answer from her anytime soon, so hearing that really threw the blonde off. She was right. Fame and mysterious backgrounds galore populated the island, so each celebrity was like a pigeon in a city. _A wave in a sea..._

"Hey, do I know you?"

Lightning literally jumped out of her seat as the dark-haired waiter from before stood on her left side, bending down a bit to look at her face.

"U-um, no. Never met." She squeaked, her irritated voice prevalent.

"Gee, I swear I've seen you around before!" the guy peered at her closer, smiling widely like a child.

"You must be mistaken. I never come into town…" Lightning continued to turn away from him, pushing against her chair as best as she could without it tipping. Her vexed tone was evident with every syllable and movement.

"Oh, so sorry miss. Didn't mean to startle you." The young man laughed as he stood back up and scratched his head. He turned to grin at the blonde man but was met with a pair of fierce, cerulean eyes glaring at him, as if threatening, _"I'd get lost if I were you_"in the swirling irises.

The man "EEP"-ed before skedaddling off into the safety of the café.

Cloud's eyes followed after him all the way to the door before he turned his gaze to the icy-eyed woman sitting across from him, who was sipping her smoothie acting like nothing had happened. A moment of silence passed between the two, Cloud interrupting it,

"Ex?"

Pulling the drink away from her lips, Lightning let out a louder-than-Light laugh before holding out her giant empty glass.

"Refill. Now."

XXX

_**Use Somebody by Tiki Taane_

"Am I supposed to feel like an idiot?"

Serah shouted as she gripped the front of the board with her delicate fingers while planking on the board. The gun(board) rode the baby wave slowly as it headed towards the shore where Snow awaited his 'student'.

"_Exactly_ how you're supposed to feel!"

She continued to float on the wave, which was less than a foot tall.

"And how does being an idiot help in my training?"

"Balance, balance, and more balance!" he bellowed, even though she was a couple feet away.

Groaning, Serah felt the board finally wash up on the shore as it rocked unevenly with the white bubbles surrounding it. She stepped off of it to stand up, and when she grabbed the board up off the sand she placed a hand on her hip and glared at Snow,

"I think you're crazy."

"I think you need more practice."

"I think that's a bit obvious, _Sherlock_."

"Only one way to fix that." He grinned smugly.

"I'm not doing it—"

"Again!" he sang cutting her off with a smirk on his face.

A red hue flushed on Serah's face, as she growled at the huge blonde.

"No. Way.—" she crossed her arms over the board and 'huff'-ed

"Agaaaaiinnn!" he chanted, once again severing her words while waving his fingers in front of the girl, trying to make her laugh.

His charming yet annoying nature couldn't be ignored by the pink-haired girl.

"Ugh, fine!"

She swung the board around swiftly, causing Snow to duck to avoid getting smacked in the face.

"That's the spirit!" he bellowed while pumping his fist in the air.

_**Young Blood by The Naked and Famous_

This madness continued on for about an hour, the two squabbling and laughing, while Serah would fall face first into a wave every now and then. The sun flickered above them like an orb of fire, the crabs crawling onto the shore to bathe in its warm glory. The cerulean waves curled beautifully like a hand slowly closing, and its white, bubbly spray glistened handsomely as they covered the blonde surfer rolling through. Snow stretched out his left hand to graze the wall of clear water on his inside, turning his head to gaze out the oval opening of the pipe causing a smile to appear on his stubbly face. Serah watched from the shore, a grin spreading across her dainty lips as she tried to mentally note down some tips, but the dashing looks of the surfer kept interfering.

A wave began to build behind her with a soft rumble, causing Serah to cringe on her board, thinking back on the day before and the horrible incident, but a large hand grasped her own. Gasping softly, she looked to her left to see Snow's pearly grin, which obviously translated to, _"You can do it. Trust me—"_. With a quick nod and look of determination, Serah turned her gaze forward waited for her instructor to give the signal to start paddling.

The board began to tip forward just barely, and immediately Snow gave the signal with a "Paddle! Paddle!". Jumping a bit from the loudness in his voice, the young girl reached forward with hesitant arms and started paddling forward.

Suddenly, she felt a surge of confidence overcome her, and she was no longer paddling, but pulling the water with her palms, streams of blue water running through her delicate fingers. Her eyes softened as the wave began to lift the board onto its forming plateau, and her arms slowly pulled out of the water to grip the front of the board. Everything muted out except the girl's hard breathing and the pulse pounding in her ears. The ice blue color in her irises lit up as she stood, her feet slipping just a bit from the speed of the wave. She closed her eyes, awaiting the cold water to smack her face from the falling impact.

But nothing came.

Gently opening her tightly closed eyes, the feeling of the ocean breeze blew through the girl's pink locks, and the sound of a rushing wave echoed all around her.

She was surfing.

Serah couldn't believe it. Her eyes shot open all the way to prove her thought, and the sight of the tip of her board hovering over the water was more than enough evidence. A huge smile spread across her face.

"Oh my gosh, Snow! Look!" she cried before turning around to look at the beanie-headed blonde, who was wading in the water on his own board, his arms crossed in satisfaction.

"Yeah, alright!" he shouted by cupping his hands, grinning as widely as her.

"Snow! Snow, I'm doing it! I'm surfing—!" she continued to shout before realizing she was standing backwards on the board losing her concentration. Her foot slipped on the gun as her whole body tilted backward and into the wave, the board flying out from under her.

"Oooh—" he cooed, wincing as if in pain before he broke into a fit of laughter, paddling towards shore.

Stumbling onto the shore and laughing like a maniac, Serah began prancing around her board that had washed up from the crash.

Snow walked up from the foamy waves with his striped board under his arm, a smile on his face. Serah pounced at him with a wider than wide smirk before wrapping her arms around his chest. A blush painted across the broski's cheeks and soon the girl's following her realization as to what she just did. Letting go hastily, Serah returned her hands to a crossed position as she stood uncomfortably in the sand her chest heaving from the large breathes she was taking from the adrenaline rush. Snow turned his head and scratched it awkwardly unsure of what to say or do.

It took a moment for the girl to actually speak as she paused to catch her breath.

"That was…" She huffed out, eyeing the sandy ground

Snow turned his gaze to the girl waiting with an earnest look on his face, curious as to what her answer could be.

"_fun._" She said. A ginger smile playing on her lips.

Snow smiled back.

XXX

_**Traffic in the Sky by Jack Johnson_

_**Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson_

The busy streets of Oahu were filled to the brim with people, Hawaiians and tourists alike, but the bright and warm sun had everyone wearing sunglasses and some hats.

Walking around in an open-air shop, Cloud carried an assortment of crazy items in his hands.

"This has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever done."

Lightning stated simply, looking in the mirror at her reflection. With her pink hair and fair skin still visible, the woman had about four different fake leis draped around her neck, sunglasses both on her head and over her eyes, and a giant sun hat with a plastic pink flower on the side shading her face. The one thing all of the accessories had in common?—They were tacky with a capital 'T'.

"Well you can't go on a tour without at least looking like a tourist."

Cloud chuckled before putting a dash of sunscreen on the girl's nose and handing her a fanny pack.

"There! You're all set." He grinned gently as she turned to face him.

"I hate you."

"Come on, _surfer_ girl, smile—"

He put his arm around her shoulder in a friendly manner as he turned her to look into the mirror again, placing some tacky sunglasses on before holding up a camera and snapping a picture of the two both looking serious, Cloud's expression a bit more amusing.

Quickly shedding all of the junk off of her graceful body, the pink-haired Farron placed her hands on her hips while giving her signature scowl.

"How much am I paying for this _tour_?" she mocked while looking the taller blonde in the eyes.

"Only a fee for transportation, miss Farron." He joked before heading towards the exit.

"Come on, we got a whole tour left, and there are places to be seen—" he laughed as he walked through the sea of tacky merchandise.

Watching him with cold eyes, a small glimmer suddenly rose up from the deep icy pools in her irises. A small smirk curved on her lips, and an honest look of amusement crossed her pretty cheek bones. She set down the load stuff randomly on a shelf before heading after the spiky-haired blonde.

The day began to roll by like a motion picture as the two continued their trek through the city, stopping almost everywhere on the street. Grabbing flyers randomly from wooden poles featuring bands and college plays and laughing about them, using the viewing binoculars over a beautiful bay while people watching and mocking obvious tourists trudging along in their colorful shirts. Cloud, always keeping a hold of his camera, took pictures along the way,

"What's with the photo shoot? I thought the _tourist _was the one supposed to be taking silly pictures." Light asked, walking beside the blonde man on the sidewalk.

"It's a complementary bonus, since you probably don't want to waste time fidgeting with the camera," Cloud stated with a calm expression, "That's also an added fee—"

His last comment earning him a good punch in the arm causing him to wince in pain. And as Cloud rubbed the spot where he'd been struck, he turned his head slightly to catch a glimpse of a sweet and soft smile on the woman's face, but as soon as he had seen it, it vanished. Nevertheless, a smile of his own broke onto his face, gently presenting itself.

Lightning noticed him watching her and turned her face to look at his, an eyebrow raised,

"_What?_" she uttered with a tone of minimal annoyance.

Not noticing he had been staring, Cloud quickly coughed and carried onward.

"N-nothing. Just wondering what we should do next."

The woman wasn't convinced, but she merely shrugged in response.

"How 'bout snorkeling? Or maybe we should get you on a surf board." Cloud grinned, half teasing a bit about the last part.

Lightning stiffened, almost stopping completely. Her bangs covered her icy eyes, shielding her leaking emotion.

"No thanks." She muttered as she paced herself quicker than the man beside her, walking farther ahead.

Cloud watched with confusion in his eyes, but an even better idea popped into his head as he jogged to catch up to 's head turned away, unintentionally giving off a hurt vibe to the taller man.

"Okay then. How about the aquarium? I've heard it's a definite tourist spot."

Slowing down again, Lightning looked up at him and nodded, the idea sounding nice to her. Besides, the heat was getting to both of them, so being inside sounded like a wonderful treat on the hot summer day.

XXX

Everyone was gathered around a table near the center of the bar chatting up a storm, all facing towards the ocean. The bar was closed during the day, but Fang and Vanille were sitting on the barstools having a light conversation while sipping some drinks, the strawberry-haired girl occasionally teasing the older, much tanner woman next to her. Vincent, the lone wolf, was leaning against one of the grass umbrella poles staring out at the ocean, and one could almost swear there was a smile on the man's face. The sky was as clear as it had been at the start of the day, and the ocean had never been bluer.

Stepping up the back steps of the wooden platform, Serah rubbed her wet hair with a pink and white towel, her skirt back on but with her bikini top still worn. Her dripping pink hair had somehow remained in its side ponytail, and Serah slowly squeezed the excess water from the locks.

Snow came up behind her, setting the boards against the railing before Gadot's deep voice rang out,

"Hey-hey, look who's back."

"Hey Serah! How'd it go?" Maqui was quick on his feet as he jogged up to the girl, tripping as he went, Hope following behind with a slower step.

"Bet she didn't even get in the water." Lebreau mumbled to Yuj with a devious smirk earning a laugh from the blue-haired dude.

"Serah, here, rode her first wave." Snow said in triumph with a grin.

Everyone except Vanille and Fang whooped and hollered in celebration, laughing all the way. Turning their curious faces, the two Aussies gawked at the crowd, wondering what all the fuss was about. Vanille spun around in her chair before hopping off with a wide grin on her face as she skipped up to Serah.

Seeing the blur of red approaching her, Serah turned to face the kind girl before being enveloped by the Australian's arms as she was pulled into a huge bear hug.

"Way to go!" She cried as Serah stood still, stunned, but smiling too.

Letting go briskly, Vanille reached behind her own shoulder to open her pouch. Serah curiously tried to get a glimpse of what the girl was doing before a beautiful necklace of pink, red, and yellow hibiscus flowers was in front of her face.

"Here." The ginger surfer mewed, placing the garland over the younger girl's head gently.

"It's a tradition for riding your first wave around here to receive a lei of hibiscus flowers. Hope you like it, cuz' I made it!" she giggled before making a cute face.

Her face quickly changed to that of surprise when Serah returned the hug,

"Thanks, Vanille." She said with a sweet and genuine smile.

Suddenly, Serah was swooped up by Gadot as he gave her a small noogie, ruffling her hair up playfully. The pink-haired girl laughed as everyone continued to question how the lesson went and whether or not Snow knew what he was doing.

Maqui was caught in a mid-laugh before his eyes glanced over at where they all had been sitting earlier, his eyes growing wide.

"H-Hey! Guys, look, it's on!" he leapt away without another word.

Everyone's heads swiveled toward his direction, and swiftly followed after him, Gadot taking his time to walk over.

Snow, Vanille, and Serah were left gawking at the huddled group. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Serah looked up to see Snow's face,

"I have to head into town for a while, but I'll be back later. Hang out as long as you like." He half-whispered with a grin on his stubbly face. Though he felt bad for having to leave her so abruptly, he knew she was in good hands.

"Okay." She smiled before waving goodbye as the tall, burly man headed towards his car and off the bar patio.

He hit the sand with a thud before jogging to his car, but turned around as he ran with his hand in the air waving,

"Take care of her, Nil'!" he called as he winked.

"Aye-aye!" she hooted with a salute and a giggle.

The two girls stood quietly for a moment until curiosity got the best of Serah as she headed towards the group of people. Carefully approaching the huddle, the green surfer peaked around Gadot's large form to find herself looking at the smallest T.V. she'd ever seen. A small square box with two large antennas, the television frequently had blue streaks roll like credits on the screen.

"Man, look at that ride…" Hope said with an excited voice.

"Sweet moves—nothing but the best." Lebreau chimed in.

When she was finally close enough to see the screen, Serah's eyebrows rose a bit as she soon found herself glued to the screen.

Riding a jet black and striking blue gun board on a shoulder high wave, a girl of no more than eighteen swept over the foamy water like a torpedo, sailing through the air while performing marvelous aerial moves, including the advanced 360 spin technique in mid-air. The generic athlete expression plagued her fair visage as she finished the wave with a swift turn, the judges scoring her high in the ranks. The most notable trademark of the surfer…her shocking blue hair.

"Who is that?" Serah asked, the question directed at no one in particular, her eyes still focused on the blurry image of the surfer.

"_Electric Blue_."

Vincent slurred the words bluntly, suddenly appearing across from her, his silent footsteps allowing an invisible entrance.

"Who?" She inquired again, a tinge of curiosity in her soft voice.

"'_Who_'? Who's _Blue_?" Reno cried in disbelief, turning around in his seat to look at Serah.

"Come on, man, she just started surfing." Gadot chimed in, defending the younger girl.

Maqui rippled his fingers through the air as he began the explanation like a story,

"Electric Blue—no name, no previous records, just shows up at the world competition with some serious rip."

"That girl blew everyone outta the water. I mean, wow!" Lebreau waved her hands in the air, an impressed expression on her fair cheek bones.

After hearing everyone's say, Serah turned her attention back to the screen. The girl on the small television continued to ride more shoulder high waves performing all sorts of advanced aerials, causing Serah's eyes to widen a bit and her lips to part. The static and stray blue lines produced by the ancient video box continued to streak across the screen, distorting the entire picture,

"What happened to her?" Serah audibly mumbled as if she knew something wasn't right.

Everyone was suddenly quiet, until Maqui managed a squeak,

"Well…"

"She kinda just…" Yuj added while reclining in his chair.

"—Disappeared." Everyone said in unison.

Serah stared at all of them with curious eyes, confused how someone simply 'disappeared'.

"HA!"

Fang slammed her drink down onto the bar top with a clatter. Everyone's eyes turned to the direction of the unflattering sound with confused expressions plaguing their faces, Serah's especially. Still sitting in silence at the bar, Fang's lips curled into a smirk as she stood from the bar stool.

"'Disappeared' my ass."

"Fang…" Vanille approached the woman cautiously, speaking in a weak yet pleading voice.

Placing her hand up to hush the younger strawberry-haired girl, the tan surfer continued with a scowl on her beautiful face. Her emerald eyes glowing from the tiki flames nearby,

"I'll tell ya what happened, the moment the waters got too rough, she up n'quit," She raised her hands in the air in emphasis to her cause. Gadot already had his arms crossed, and Serah assumed he knew what was to come, considering his unamused countenance.

"Arrogant, cold—a pathetic excuse for a surfer."

Everyone remained quiet, knowing that trying to silence the upset woman was a death wish.

"Please—" Vanille whimpered softly only to be muted out by Fang's infuriated ranting.

"She's a _bitch_—That's all she's ever been!" She cried out with pure rage threaded in her words, her voice threatening to crack with every heightened pitch. Serah watched the woman in horror, never expecting such an explosion from the calm character, but she could have sworn she saw tears forming at the edges of the surfer's jade eyes as she shouted in ire.

"Fang, stop it!"

Silence struck the entire bar. Curling her fists tightly at her sides, Vanille was on the break of crying as she stared downward at the sandy, wooden floor, her whole body shaking from the pent-up emotions leaking from her cracked shell.

Fang snapped out of her rage almost immediately as if she had been under a spell. Her wide green eyes stared at her friend in shock before they shut tightly again.

"_tch_" Fang mumbled. Serah's eyes widened upon hearing the sound as the woman turned around and made her way down the wooden steps and onto the beach, her heavy steps sounding through the air.

Vanille remained rooted to her spot, her shoulders moving up and down in a rhythmic pattern, her breath shortening to quiet sobs. Suddenly, Gadot appeared behind her, towering over the young girl's frail body.

"Nil'?" he questioned with a deep and caring voice.

Vanille slowly stopped shaking, taking a deep breath and looking forward with the most determined eyes Serah had ever seen. So much emotion swirled in the pools of green adorned on her fair face,

"I'll be fine." She mumbled, forcing a weak grin as she turned her head to look up towards the man.

A painful hush hovered in the bar like a thick fog. All were silent, and even the waves seemed to recede from the shore in anxious fear of the hurt floating amongst the surfers.

XXX

They must have come to the aquarium on a good day because the crowd was actually a lot smaller and quieter than they both imagined it to be. Cloud paid for the tickets after a small banter with the pink-haired Farron over insisting that he pay for both and the two made their way into the large atrium, where different detailed pathways led to particular fish species. Standing in the center in utter silence for a few minutes, Cloud turned his head towards Lightning's,

"So. Which way?"

Lightning was as unsure as he was, with six different trails, the choice was difficult. Lightning looked around before piping up,

"Well, we have time for all of them, so why don't we just go around in order." She voiced, her vocal volume rising a bit from its previous tone, since she felt more comfortable around the taller man.

"Alright. Lead the way." Cloud grinned softly waving his hand towards the first entrance way.

Grunting with a smirk, Light gracefully made her way into the colorful arch way, leading into a hallway. Surrounded by glass, the path ended up being a tube with the tank on all sides except below you. Looking around with little more than a surprised expression, the younger woman gazed at all the marine life that swam about her. The tank consisted of minor fish species, such as clownfish, tangs, butterfly fish, all the way down to puffer fish, which were cute to watch. Pressing up against the bar keeping you from touching the glass, Cloud placed his hands on the bar next to Light, who continued to watch in awe.

"Well they were definitely right about the quality of the place. The fish are beautiful."

"Unh." Lightning nodded her head, feeling the warmth of her 'tour guide' brushing her delicate skin.

Moving hesitantly, the woman tilted her chin up to look at the man's face. A calm expression covered his entire visage, but a captivated emotion enveloped it as well, his light blue eyes piercingly bright in the darker tunnel. She turned back to the tank in front of her with a thoughtful look on her face,

_It's been a while since someone's been so kind and open with me. It feels…nice._

The sound of Cloud's charming voice awoke her from the thought-dream.

"Let's go check out the other channels." He said with a calm yet excited look on his face.

"Okay." Light replied, turning once more to look at a lion fish dash through the blue waters.

They headed out of the first tunnel and into the next only to be halted in front of the other arch wall.

A large shark head protruded the rocky entrance, a couple more 'swimming' up the sides. Lightning stopped a few feet behind Cloud, keeping her eyes on him.

"Looks like it's being repaired." He muttered loudly, seeing the "Do Not Enter" sign plastered on the front over some tape.

He turned to look at Light only to be faced with her looking at the ground.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked with his hand reaching out instinctually, approaching her with a look of small concern, assuming she was tired or something.

She didn't reply immediately, but quickly jerked her head up to respond,

"Y-yeah, fine. Just…disappointed, I guess." She finished with a mumble, looking into his eyes with her own.

"Yeah, but there's always next time, right?" The spikey head of hair turned to look up at the shark head while speaking.

Lightning turned a bit, following the blonde as he walked past her to the next entrance.

"Right…" she whispered, biting her lower lip.

She stood still for a while before forcing herself to lift a foot to move,

"Hey Lightning, you like jelly fish?" Cloud pointed up at the other archway, fake jellyfish hanging over the entrance. His voice had a hint of teasing in it, to purposely lighten her up.

Nodding with a subtle grin, Lighting quickly followed the blonde into the entrance, unconsciously staying close to his side.

XXX

Evening had settled on the island, and the ocean breeze blew through the bar sweetly as the moon waned above the blue-black sea. A few clouds speckled the sky above, but not enough to cover the little twinkling stars lighting up the heavens.

Serah was helping clean up with Lebreau as she wiped down tables using a small briny cloth. She turned to gaze out at the ocean only to see Vanille leaning against the railing in utter silence, her pink skirt blowing gently in the wind.

Looking back at the others, she realized everyone was about done cleaning up, assuming it would be okay to take a quick break. She dropped the cloth on the table and softly made her way to the edge of the bar where Vanille had situated herself. Placing her arms quietly over the railing like the strawberry-haired girl had, Serah allowed a nearly audible sigh to escape her lips.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Vanille spoke, a sense of embarrassment edging her tone of voice.

"Fang's just been having a tough time lately."

Serah waved her arms in front of her with a sincere grin on her face, surprised by the red-haired girl's sudden change of character,

"I-It's okay. I'm kinda used to that sort of stuff—family drama."

"Really? Does your family have fights often too?" the emerald-eyed girl responded.

Turning back towards the ocean view, Serah swung her arms over the rail while watching the far off waves.

"Well, not really anymore. It's just my sister and me nowadays, but she _can_ get a bit snappy."

Both girls giggled a bit as Maqui and Yuj began to bicker in the background, a broom in either boy's hands.

Leaning forward towards her pink-haired friend, Vanille grinned the cheeriest grin in all Oahu,

"So you two just live out here by yourselves? You must be awful close." Her voice raised a pitch in reaction, her natural

"Not exactly. She's really to herself, and I kind of haven't seen her since—"

"Vanille! Serah!"

The two girl's turned to face the person owning the booming voice, obviously Gadot.

"Eh?" they squeaked in unison.

"We're closin up!"

Vanille waved her hand in appreciation to the dark surfer, and returned her attention to the younger girl beside her. Serah stretched her arms out over the railing before giving a sweet and honest grin.

"Well, I better head home. Sis will be wondering where I am."

Vanille gave a huge nod of the head before replying herself, her voice full of boundless energy.

"Yeah, Fang's probably eating tubs of icecream as we speak," she raised her right arm up a few inches away from her chest while holding it diagonally across her body and balled her hand into a fist. "I'll see you later, kay?" she smirked at the newly born surfer, determination filling her beautiful jade eyes.

Looking at her with a sense of puzzlement, something came over the young girl as she instinctively raised her own right arm as her friend did and placed it against Vanille's, forming an 'X' between each other.

She nodded with a grunt and a grin, a bond of friendship suddenly growing between the two. Pulling their arms away, Vanille waved swiftly before bouncing off across the bar, calling goodbye to everyone. A choir of farewells echoed in the large shelter as the strawberry-haired girl headed to her car and into the darkness.

Serah stood quietly in place, returning her arms to the wooden rail as she gazed out at the murky ocean waters. Flashes of today's events played in front of her like pictures, laughter and many smiles accompanying the joyful phantasmagorias. Suddenly, the image of a blue-haired surfer flooded her mind. Performing those splendid tricks like a dance in her eyes as she had on the television, Serah couldn't help but marvel at the girl's talent. Curiosity filled the younger Farron's heart like a sweet feeling, and Serah wondered if she would ever become as amazing as the mysterious, _Electric Blue_.

XXX

_**Relaxing Background Music by RelaxDaily (on youtube)_

An enormous manta ray floated lightly through the clear sapphire water, flapping its beautiful, magnificent fans like wings with a pair of remora hovering underneath its alabaster belly. Watching intently as it passed by gracefully, Lightning's crystal blue eyes were in a trance as all of the beauty of the ocean swept by being separated by a mere slab of glass. Sea turtles soared along the fake current with somber looks on their faces, and then a school of yellow tang swiftly flew by, being startled by a devious sand goby.

Joining her side, Cloud too looked up at the enormous tank housing a marvelous range of fantastic creatures.

"It's beautiful." Light sighed as she continued to gaze on.

The blonde man looked at her with a hint of shock plaguing his face. Not so much shock, but surprise; surprised to see the usually docile and serious Lightning Farron entranced by something so simple. It made him grin, knowing he shared one of her passions,

"Yeah." He replied.

Serene silence hovered between the two as they continued to watch the life pass by them in the indigo world. A gorgeous leopard moray eel snaked across the tank, its incredible long body winding by like a ribbon in the air.

"You really love the ocean don't you?" Strife asked, pivoting his head to glance at her before returning his gaze to the eel.

Lightning didn't respond, her eyes fixed on the world in front of her. Cloud continued to flicker his eyes to glance at the slightly shorter woman, a grin appearing on his fair face.

The two stood there in total silence. An invaluable sense of tranquility and amity filling the two's ocean-drawn souls, their hearts fluttering in the sea of their stilled forms.

* * *

><p><strong>TA-DA!<strong>

PHEW! What a chapter! I really enjoyed writing this. In fact, I couldn't stop!

I want to thank you all again for waiting patiently for this update, and I apologise for its lateness. I'm ashamed, and I hope you all will not be too mad at me, though I honestly deserve it. I **LOVE** writing this story. Truly, I do. I promise I won't abandon it! I PROMISE

Anyway, thanks for reading! R&R if you want, you're reviews are what fuel my passion for this story :D

Until next time...:3


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! Luxuria here~ Just updating before I start playing...*drumrollpleeeaaassseee*...

**FINAL FANTASY XIII-2!**

I picked it up at midnight this morning/last night at the midnight release, aaaaand it's a long story, but there was a giant box you could win if you won a Soul Calibur V battle. I had never played SC before, so I gave it a shot AND I WON! I got a giant stand up poster of all the characters of the game x3333 SO FUN! Everyone couldn't believe a normal/shot/ girl won the battle ffffffffsofunny~

anyWHORE, here's the next chapter! ENJOY GUYS! This one's more of a dating chapter, so I hopes you don't mind teh fluffiness :3

_I also LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH for the reviews, faves, watches, and all the wonderful guesses to WHO IS ELECTRIC BLUEEEEE? :D_

GREAT GUESSES EVERYONE! But you'll just have to keep reading to find out hurrrhurrrrr~

**DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy and its property, characters, and themes all belong to SE! I only own my story and OC's. Hawaii owns itself~**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter VIII: The Roar of Fenrir<em>

The roar of the lapping waves created large gusts of wind that rustled the leaves of the ocean palms. The seagulls and creatures had gone to roost, so the sound of the break and the gales was nature's one reminder that she remained; however a not-so natural whirr gently sliced through the silence of the night.

The quiet hum of the engine rumbled in the dark evening, the moon sliced in half and only able to light up a bit of the tropical island. The steady pulse soothed Lightning's tired limbs. Her bones ached from the incredible amount of walking she had done today, but being the restless athlete she was the soreness was more of a relief. She hadn't really exercised intensely for a couple of days, and she was reminded of the addictive feeling of the training satisfaction.

Most of the dignity in her had blown away with the lost energy and silly events of the day, but she kept her hands on the seat of the bike. She preferred not to _touch_ people, no matter how simple the gesture may be.

The road continued to wrap around the island like a border on a picture, very few cars remained on the road besides Cloud's motorbike. A feeling of exhaustion suddenly overtook Lightning, but with a painful jolt she managed to stay conscious, her eyes fluttering all the while,

"Cloud." She said, almost inaudibly.

That was the first time she had ever said his name, and a noise of surprise escaped Cloud's now open mouth. He responded with a grunt of inquiry, turning his head to the right a tad to show he was listening, almost hoping to hear his name in her voice again.

"Where the hell did you get this bike?"

He let out a laugh, "Oh, Fenrir? I fixed him up a couple years ago."

"You made this thing?" she gawked at the back of his spiky head, trying desperately hard not to show too much surprise.

"Well, with a little help from a friend, yeah. Took forever, but it was worth it. There's no better ride." He flared the engine a bit before slowing down to make it around a slick turn. "Why, you don't like him?"

"N-no, it's just…he's so big." She mumbled looking down to see the road flying swiftly underneath them, humoring subconsciously that she had called the machine a '_he_'.

Her tired state began to creep into her eyes again, and in desperation to stay awake Light tried to gather up another question to occupy her mind.

"Hey, Cloud." She asked again, feeling dazed and stupid for talking more than usual.

"What are you doing in Oahu?"

His hand twisted on the handle.

"Visiting."

Lightning remained quiet, her eyes drifting to her fingers that were gripping the black leather with a vice-like clasp. Cloud's husky yet suave voice continued to fill her dainty, pink ears.

"I'm staying with the hooligans you met at the bar. They're old friends of mine." He said, readjusting his goggles before revving the engine again. "I just got back from Newcastle; we were prepping for the competition coming up."

"Competition?" the younger woman asked, looking out to the dark ocean on her right.

"Yeah, it's a big deal for surfers. One day can turn your ordinary rookie into a pro." The road began to straighten out, and a lone car flew by them, its lights blinding for a moment. Cloud continued after passing the vehicle. "But…I don't really go for the sport. I enjoy being able to get together and talk with all of the surfers I've known my whole life. Friends, rivals, even strangers."

Lightning averted her gaze from the sea and gazed at the back of the blonde's head, his spikey hair flailing in the wind. Her eyes became blue-tinted orbs filled with a serious nature and other mixed emotions as she listened intently, feeling a sense of nostalgia come over the driver. Her enervated eyes fluttering in a struggle to stay awake.

"I guess, if anything, that's why I surf. No matter what—it brings people together."

Cloud exhaled, not having spoken that much in a long time, especially about such a deep topic. The air suddenly became rather quiet, and a sense of warmth heated in between his toned shoulder blades. Turning his head carefully, he found himself staring at a stirring sight. Lightning had rested her head on the blonde's back, her cheek gently leaning against the fabric of his shirt. Her beautiful eyes closed in a stilled peace; her signature scowl nowhere to be found. Her wavy, pink locks floated gently in the brisk wind, and her bangs fluttered over her fair skinned face, but each hair only managed to graze the sleeping Farron.

Cloud couldn't help but grin at the woman's childlike appearance, as if pure innocence were swarming around those rose-tinted cheeks.

Reluctantly turning his cerulean eyes' attention back to the winding road, a smile crept onto his usually somber visage and a small ounce of happiness melted into his soul. He was so captivated by her calm countenance that he hadn't even noticed her gentle hands wrapped around his torso for support.

XXX

The dark waves of the ocean now enveloped the last of the red and purples leaving the sky to the violet night. A giant foot jogged up the wooden, boarded steps causing some of the large crowd of customers in the bar to turn their heads, but at seeing who the noisy stomper was, they returned their eyes to their drinks and company. Breathing a bit heavily from the run, Snow looked around to see Lebreau mixing drinks at the bar with all of the seats filled with young men. As soon as her eyes met Snow's her head began to shake and a smirk appeared on her raspberry lips.

He approached her with large steps, about to open his mouth to speak, but no words came to mind. He wasn't sure what to say.

"I don't know what she sees in you." She sung teasingly, rolling her eyes to the left with exaggeration.

Snow turned to look in the particular direction to see Serah looking out at the ocean, seeming to have her hands busy with something. In all honesty, he was surprised she had waited for him, and an impulsive guilt suddenly overtook his legs, and he began to run towards her. Right into the multiple tables filled with customers.

Crashing sounds screeched big and small behind the pink-haired eighteen year old, and the uproar of angry and surprised shouts followed. Turning her head to see what was wrong, Serah's eyes fell upon the giant build of Snow Villiers, who was tripping over seats and tables alike. She giggled with a smile, amused by the commotion he had caused trying to (apparently) run through the furniture and people. He quickly turned to face an older woman directly

"Look, I'm really sorry—"

He didn't get to finish before the woman thrust her drink into his face, dying his blond bangs and collar pink. Lebreau gasped back at the bar before guffawing loudly and toppling over mixing cup.

The angered woman left in a huff, a man following in suit, leaving Snow standing awkwardly at the edge of the bar. He raised his hand to apologize, causing everyone to return to their seats, and order was restored.

Giving a great and heavy sigh, the large surfer turned around to find himself standing face to face with the beautiful young girl, her crystal blue eyes sparkling and the pearly smile clear to all.

Taking the cleaning cloth from earlier out of the pocket of her shorts, she wiped a streak of the drink off of the blonde man's cheek before handing it to him.

"You certainly have a way with words." She chuckled softly as she picked a lime peel off of his front brow.

"Probably—*wipes hand across face*–probably deaf." He finished, spitting the drink off of his lips as it dripped down like a waterfall of strawberry water.

Serah laughed. She knew he wasn't being arrogant, merely goofy with his words. Something she liked about him.

"_Liked"?_

A quizzical look plagued her gentle face like a sudden ill-feeling.

'_I can't possibly… already like this guy? I mean, we just met! I-I-I'm just a friend, that's all! Besides, why would a surfer wanna date a landlubber like me? Or, do they even say that anymore? Ooooh, I'm completely hopeless. Maybe I should ask sis about it…'_

'_Are you crazy? She'll kill the guy just looking at you!'_

Serah blinked her eyes for a moment, wondering who had just said that.

'W-Who are you?'

'_I am you. Your conscience. Or in this case, the saver of you land-living life.'_

'_Oh. That would make sense. I mean, psssshhh, who else would be in my head.'_

'_Yeah, Serah, you're not crazy yet!'_

'_Oooh, I didn't know I had such a good sense of humor—'_

'_Pudding~'_

'_Pudding!'_

"Ahahahahaaaa—!" Serah cackled loudly unaware of the stir she was causing.

Suddenly, reality hit her as she silenced herself, now mindful that she had in fact just cackled evilly in the middle of a bar.

Snow stared curiously at her with a shocked look, obviously confused as to why she was laughing so boisterously and over what.

The young girl's face turned beet red as she tried to find the right words to explain herself,

"I—uh, well, it's kind of, hrrrmmmm…pudding! Yes—!" she stuttered like a bird, stumbling over every syllable uttered.

Watching her with sweet amusement, Snow couldn't help but glance down at an odd object that caught his eye. He reached his gargantuan hand and grasped hers which was flailing in front of her chest. This immediately silenced the girl, causing the blush to deepen its hue of red and pink.

"What's this?" he asked with a grin.

"Eh?" she squeaked, unsure of what he meant.

Her blue eyes followed his and she soon found herself staring at the necklace in her tight clutch. All of the stress and energy instantly left her body as she relaxed before answering, her stutters no longer prevalent in her speech,

"Oh, Lebreau and the boys gave it to me. Well, they gave me the supplies so I could make a necklace, since the lei won't last forever. Said it was good luck or something." A sweet smile had spread on her lips, thinking of how they were all claiming it was one or the other's as a gift for her.

Snow gently took it from her hand and inspected it,

"Puka beads, huh?" He held it up to his face with a smile.

"Legend says lady luck loved the shells herself. She'll follow you even out to sea to watch over your life. Definitely a good luck charm—especially for surfers." He held her hand in his own as he gently laid the necklace back into her palm then closing her dainty fingers over it.

Serah couldn't help but notice the emphasis he put on the last part, causing her to bubble with joy, but a humble side showed itself by holding back with a quiet blush.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long." He said, scratching his head as the words left his mouth.

"It's totally fine. I was actually rather acquainted with your friends by the end of the day. They're really great, Snow." She laced her fingers together behind her while she looked up confidently at the tall man, who was now wearing a smile.

"You just tell me if they ever bother you. They drive me nuts!" he laughed while pointing back at Leb and Gadot at the bar with his thumb.

Serah covered her mouth as she giggled, "Maybe you're just sensitive, _Boss-man_."

She slurred the latter part and spoke in Gadot's accent, making Snow cross his arms in a taunting manner.

"Oh-ho-ho! Seems like I've left you with them too long."

"Hehe, not long enough. I've never had so much fun before!"

"Geez, where do _you_ come from?"

The two had made their way over to one of the empty tables, sitting on either side while continuing their conversation.

"Little place called Oxford, actually." Serah said as she sat in the cushioned chair, her eyes never leaving Snow's.

Snow accidentally fell into his seat before leaning forward with doubting eyes, making sure he heard right.

"Wait, wait… Oxford? As in, _Oxford university?_"

"Yes, the college is located there." Serah answered slowly, adding extra clarity to her response.

"Then if you're from England, where's the snobby accent?" Snow grinned a wide grin while resting his arms on the tabletop.

Serah couldn't help but laugh.

"Well I wasn't originally from the U.K. I was born and raised in Malibu, California. I moved to England when I was fourteen, so I didn't really have time to pick up an accent."

The young girl smiled as she fiddled with the flowers around her neck.

"Where are you from?" she said, honestly curious about the man.

Snow leaned back with his hands behind his head, taking a moment before respond.

"I _actually_ don't know."

Serah flinched, unsure of whether or not the stubble-chinned man was joking or not. But he wasn't even though he wore a smirk on his face.

"Y-You're kidding!" she cried, hovering over the table as she soon found herself almost out of her chair.

He in turn tilted forward out of his comfortable position to talk to her face.

"Seriously, I haven't a clue."

A phone ring went off playing _Skinny_ _Love_ by Bon Iver causing Serah to jump in surprise. She quickly reached into her pocket to answer it, Snow watching all the while smiling in amusement.

XXX

Turning the key in the slot carefully, Cloud silenced the giant motorbike before sitting in silence. The waves of the ocean were mere whispers, since the moon pulled them back during the late hours of the night. A warm sensation pulsed on his back causing him to turn his face just enough to peer over his shoulder. The twenty-one year old woman clung comfortably to the blonde's torso, sound asleep against his back. Her lips had parted just a tad so that now puffs of warm air escaped in rhythm with her breathing. A handsome smile formed on his own lips as he carefully lifted his left leg over the seat so that he was now sitting on the leather in one direction. Lightning remained deep in her sleep as her head rolled onto his left shoulder.

After little struggle on the strong man's part, Cloud had finally gathered the woman in his arms bridal style as he walked to the door of her beach house. He was only lucky that he had a good memory to remember the address that Light had given him earlier, since he didn't favor the thought of waking her. But as he arrived at the wooden door, a thought struck his mind. The door was probably locked. He mouthed an inaudible set of words before he looked down at the fair skinned, pink-haired woman.

There was a slight bulge in her left pocket on the side not hugged to his chest, which he hoped might be the keys to the house. Carefully nudging her arm over his shoulder, he hoped she would hold on in her sleep for support. He reached underneath her toward the pocket, his fingers grazing the edge of the fabric.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Cloud froze. His blue eyes slowly turned their focus on the icy eyes of the Farron sister, who gave him a look that said,_ "You have three seconds before I cut that blonde spikey hair of yours off and shove it down your throat."_ in cold blood, but it was obvious by the way her eyes weren't fully open that she had just woken up. She may have trusted him, but not that much.

"I-I—I was just getting the keys." His words stumbled out, but he successfully pulled a pair of keys out of her pocket as he spoke, a jingling sound following.

Turning her attention towards herself now, Light took her time as she assumed her position. Her right arm was wrapped around his neck while the other was laid across her torso, her legs dangled by the knee over Cloud's supporting arm; while the bottom part of her back was struggling to be supported by the blonde's reaching arm, which now held the keys. Not a position Lightning Farron was used to being in.

"I _swear_ I just wanted to get you inside safely."

She turned her crystal eyes back to meet his, her gaze piercing into his cerulean orbs with a stern stare. His returning look expressed nothing but honesty, and she clearly saw it, but her obdurate nature caused her to still close her walls to him.

"Y-you can put me down now."

'_Was that a stutter?'_ she thought, surprised and embarassed by her stumble of words.

Nodding coolly, Cloud set her down gently feet first, then handing her the chiming keys. She gracefully took the keychain assorted with sophisticated appendages and accessories before turning to face the doorway. She placed the key in the lock but stopped abruptly.

"_Thank you_." She mumbled, though loudly enough to be heard.

Cloud smiled faintly, watching her with soft eyes.

"No problem, Farron."

He turned and stepped down one of the wooden boarded steps but a small tug kept him from leaving, not noticing a small scratching sound from behind him. Nothing was pulling him, but he just couldn't go anywhere but back. Hastily rotating to face the woman again, he outstretched his hand a bit, since he was now at eyelevel with her,

"Would it be alright if I, um…called you—"

A small piece of paper was shoved into his chest, a couple of numbers scribbled neatly on it.

"Here." She snapped sharply, her usual Lightning-self surfacing.

He took the paper carefully from her fingers as she withdrew her hand. Her number was on it. A smirk shook his visage, and Lightning crossed her arms and tilted her head upward a tad.

"Thanks." He said, holding up the paper in his right hand.

"_tch._" She replied bluntly as she turned to head inside, the blonde man still facing her.

"Night."

She had set foot fully through the door and turned to face him,

"Night, Spikey." The door closed agonizingly slowly, but it finally shut with a small click.

Cloud remained on that one step for a full minute, listening to the beach only a couple yards away. He finally took a breath which led into a light beaming face, but not so much as to push the Strife serious-meter, and headed down the final leap of steps.

The rumble of Fenrir's roar hummed in her ears as Lightning leaned her back leisurely against the door, her arms loosely a-cross. Her eyes closed as the thunderous growl echoed into the night, fading completely within minutes. A groan escaped her pink lips and she slowly began to slide down the door, never once opening her tired eyes. She was now sitting against the door, her knees together but her feet parted to either side, and her weak head rolled upward towards the ceiling.

Reaching down with a lazy arm, her hand grasped the cellphone in her pocket. She flipped it open and dialed a few numbers blindly before struggling to place the phone to her ear. It rang once, then twice. The name "SERAH" displayed on the screen, but the letters grew smaller as the phone descended from the woman's head. She clicked the red 'END' button as her hand touched the cold wooden floor. A smirk formed on her gentle face.

XXX

"H-Hello? Sis."

She waited patiently with the oddly quiet side of the call. Her focused look melting into one of confusion, she tried again to earn a retort,

"Sis?" she called out quietly.

But there was no reply. She turned to look at Snow and they both shrugged in unison. She snapped the phone shut and placed it back in her pocket, standing from her seat.

"She must be wondering where I am. I should probably head home." She smiled delicately at the large man across from her, but Snow could see it—a hint of worry.

He stood as well and offered out a hand verbally,

"Here, I'll walk you home—"

"Oh! That's alright, I can bike there." Snow tried to insist, considering how late it was and that it was dangerous on the roads at night, but Serah continued to hold her hands up in defense, claiming bravely how she could fight off any evil boogey-men. "That's really sweet of you, but it's not too far from here..."

Finally pushing his protective nature behind him, Snow gave in as he walked with his newfound friend to the exit of the bar.

Serah turned and waved to Lebreau as she passed, who in turn waved back with a happy grin on her face. They stepped down the wooden boards and started their trek on the sands of the beach towards the parking lot.

"I had a lot of fun today." Serah finally piped up, the awkward silence bothering her.

Snow put his hands in his pockets and grinned widely,

"Yeah, me too."

"I still can't believe I rode an actual wave today!"

"Hey, I knew you could do it from the start."

The two laughed heartily at the remembrance of each other's actions earlier that day. The pink-haired girl laced her fingers together behind her back as she looked up at the taller surfer,

"I couldn't have done it without you." She smiled with true gumption, causing Snow to blush lightly.

"W-Well, don't want you falling in anymore crashes."

"Ha, neither do I. So… Thank you, Snow." She spoke with great eloquence, her voice soft and delicate like a rose, but her heart was as strong as a lion's. An odd yet beautiful combination.

By the time his name rolled off of her tongue, the two had reached a sporty bicycle painted a stylish lime green with cyan edges. The handles were black and there was a white metal bell on the left one.

"Nice bike." Snow smirked. It was definitely a 'girl' bike.

Serah pushed him a bit before mounting the sporty leather seat,

"It's my sister's." she laughed, rolling her striking blue eyes.

The gentle giant stepped back a bit to give the girl some room to ride. Kicking the break up off of the ground, Serah placed her foot on the sandy asphalt to hold the bike in place.

Snow was no longer consciously nervous around the girl, and felt completely relaxed around her. despite his obvious crush, he was able to talk with his usual 'hero' voice,

"We're all going surfing down at the Break tomorrow, since the boys haven't gotten a wave in yet. Care to join us?"

"Don't worry, you don't have to take on the big waves if you don't want. You can chill in the lineup with me! Reno will be stealing all the good ones anyway."

"All right! I'll see you tomorrow then." The blonde surfer gave a wave (no pun intended) of the arm and hand before backing up to let his friend leave.

"—kay…" she said with a fading voice, all of the breath leaving her strangely within seconds.

Snow had finally turned around and started to jog back to the bar in the near distance, the sound of music still audible from the elevated structure's speakers. Serah continued to watch with emotionless eyes, the fatigue of the day finally catching up to her. Lifting her leg onto the pedal, she began to pump her legs and speed off at a leisurely alacrity down the dark road.

She grinned as she turned her fair face to watch the small waves kiss the blue shores, thinking of the how much she'd accomplished in a day. She was almost tempted to tell her sister about it. But, something held her back and she continued to pedal along, pushing Light out of her mind for the first time in a long time. The thought of her new-found friends and sport, and the sweet scent of the lei the only fantasies playing across her ice blue eyes.

* * *

><p>So I hope you all liked it!<p>

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU once again for all the reviews and love! They really mean the world to me, and help me write every bit of fluff in the story. What you say will be heard :D

Thank you, and I hope you all are having a lovely _**2012**_!

Until next time... :3


	9. Chapter 9

NEW CHAPTER UP :D

Well hello thar! Been a while, eh? Sorry for the wait, I had this GINORMOUS term paper to write for school and boy was it a doozy! So technically...I have been writing! xD I missed this story so much though, and heavens to Betsy-the story line's finally picking up! WOOT!

Anyway, a HUGE MAJOR YAM OF A THANK YOU to all the reviews! 37? WOW~ They mean the world to me guys :3

Here are my responses to the unsigned reviews :)

Mirtilo - UNO, DOS, TREEEEEEEEESSSSSS :D

Tony B - Aww, thank you so much! And yes, this story is quite crazy and, let's face it, _weird_ haha

ENJOY!

**DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy and its property, characters, and themes all belong to SE! I only own my story and OC's. Hawaii owns itself. I am writing this story for he entertainment of the readers. I do not make any money from them.**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter IX: A Vision of Fate<em>

_** Johnny Guitar by Khalid Barzanji_

_** The Beach by Thomas Lemmer_

The clock read eight o'clock, and if the darkness didn't imply that the quietness of the flat did. Cloud pushed the door closed behind him until the click of the lock emitted from the wood. The lights were out, but the outdoor lights remained on, lighting the house in a cold blue glow. Since sight wasn't a problem, the blonde man set his keys on the coffee table in front of the black couch, which was positioned away from the entrance, but as the first piece of furniture a guest would see. The flat was definitely well furbished, and its contemporary urban appearance mixed beautifully with the native beach-look. With two bedrooms that could fit three each if necessary, the house was specifically built as a vacation home, and the addition of a modern kitchen and well-lit deck made the place even more fantastic.

There was one factor that plagued the lovely property, and that was the closeness of the neighbors. Though distanced by a couple yards, the row of flats similar to theirs rolled along the shore, and on the other side of street were more medium-sized condos. Luckily, the boys' neighbors were usually quiet and friendly.

Cloud thought of Lightning's bleach white and light blue beach house all by itself on the coast; how nice it must be to be totally secluded in paradise.

Suddenly, the blue-eyed surfer felt parched, and the sense of fatigue had not struck him as quickly as it had with Light. He walked out of the main studio and into the kitchen to open the stainless steel refrigerator. He wasn't particularly sure what his dry mouth wanted, but instead grabbed the first thing he saw. Wrapping his hands delicately around a rectangular shaped box that apparently contained coconut milk, Cloud smirked, knowing either Hope or Reno purchased the drink, and decided to give it a try. As he pulled his arm away with the drink in hand, a flash of violet and red sparked in his peripheral vision. He turned his head to get a better look and saw a dark figure sipping a glass of crimson-tinted wine, one of the lights on the deck reflecting on the glass. The glass door to the deck was open and a breeze ruffled Cloud's spiky hair,

"Vince?" he spoke in a deep voice, closing the fridge door quietly.

Vincent grunted in approval as he tasted his wine once more. His hair was up in the usual red band with stray hairs sticking out everywhere. He wore a long-sleeve black collared shirt, untucked over a pair of nice black pants. A thin white tie wrapped around the collar of the shirt untied. And to top it off, an old yet shiny pair of loafers housed the man's feet. Definitely not your usual Vincent Valentine attire.

Cloud's steps resonated with soft thuds on the wooden surface as he walked across the deck. Placing his elbows on the railing comfortably, the two were now gazing in the direction the faced the curve of the shore, the city visible in the distance with its glowing lights.

"What's with the get-up?" Cloud asked teasingly. His voice remained at a quiet volume.

"I had a conference to attend."

"For the Open?"

Cloud turned his head a bit to observe the emotions on his friend's face, but of course there were none as the dark-haired man took a sip of his wine.

"…Not exactly."

The two were silent for a moment as three girls had just gotten out of a car to head inside their own flat, which was right next to the men's. Cloud watched them stumble and trip up the steps to the condo amusingly until one of them caught sight of him. She squealed and began to wave drunkenly her friends all joining her within seconds. Giving a quick wave just to be polite, Cloud quickly turned away, hoping they would stop. Luckily, they did.

"There's a rumor going around…" Vincent mumbled loudly, causing the blonde's ears to perk up.

Vincent sipped his crimson liquid before continuing, his raspy voice hardly louder than the waves' hiss,

"They say _she _will be there."

Cloud sighed heavily at his friend's words. He replied with a dull tone,

"Why would she just show up, Vince?"

"Dunno. But something tells me the rumor's true. I say we head to Bells Beach early."

A strange spark suddenly struck Cloud like a lightning bolt. The blue-eyed male instantly fell into deep thought and a swirl of emotions, but his feelings were barely evident on his solemn face. Lightning first came to mind. Vincent, however, noticed the hesitance in his friend's eyes,

"Look, Cloud, we're already going to the competition. A few extra days won't hurt."

Cloud still remained silent, keeping to his thoughts as he fiddled with his drink with his thumbs. Vincent's eyebrows raised a hair as he realized what was bothering the younger man.

Something papery pressed up against Cloud's left shoulder causing him to be knocked out of his trance. He turned his gaze towards the strange object only to see a long strip of paper covered in numbers. It was a plane ticket.

"Vince—"

"You might as well have some fun on the trip." Vincent grumbled with a subtle smirk.

"But not too much fun. Keep it 'PG' for the kids, alright?" this remark caused Cloud to chuckle before blushing a bit.b

"We're just friends, Vince, seriously."

His voice was raised just a tad as he retorted at his older friend, but upping the volume was a mistake. Suddenly, a couple of faces appeared at an open window across the way in the other condo. It was the girls from before.

"Heeeey there!"

"Oh my gosh, there's two of em'! I must be seeing double—"

"Keep your eyes to yourself, Jihl, besides I got dibs on the cute one."

"Back off, Lar, the blonde one's _all_ _mine_!"

"Helloooo!" they all cried in a drunken mess as a series of high-pitched laughter followed.

The two men simply watched with indifferent expressions on their faces as the three girls continued to steal a single bottle of Vodka from one another, screeching like canaries. A chill wind brushed through the condos before Cloud turned to Vince with a calm expression,

"When do we leave?"

XXX

_**Stand Tall by Dirty Heads_

After placing her bike on the side of the beach house, Serah stretched her arms to the sky as she yawned cutely. She hopped up the steps to the door with the little energy she had left from the long day and proceeded to pull out her house key from a pocket in her shorts. Holding the silver key in her delicate fingers she unlocked the door to her house and pushed forward, but the door wouldn't move. The young woman's eyebrow rose in question to the door's firm standing and assumed she hadn't unlocked it. Trying once more to unlock it with her key, she held the knob firmly before giving another push. The door refused to budge.

"That's odd. It's not locked so what's the problem…?" Serah mumbled to herself before giving another shove to the wooden door.

Suddenly the door inched open, but barely enough to squeeze even a finger through. A frustrated and baffled set of emotions played on the young Farron's face as she continued to push against the door. After a minute or two, the door was open enough for Serah to fit her head through. She looked around only to see that there were no lights on in the house. Her eyes began to flutter about before finally a moan emitted from the door.

Serah literally jumped out of her skin, lucky that she had held back the shrill scream ready to escape her throat.

She looked frantically in the darkness of her home until another small noise sounded. This time, instead of scaring her, the groan merely intrigued Serah as she turned her gaze towards the noise. There, lying against the door, was her sister, Lightning, completely sound asleep.

Serah, first confused by her sister's choice of a resting place, snorted with a smirk. She squeezed her way through the thin space between the frame and the door with gasping fits and struggles all the way. After stumbling out of the clutches of the door, she inhaled loudly and grasped her aching stomach and chest. She turned to look at her sister with curious eyes as she caught sight of a small light emitting from the older woman's phone. She crouched down with her knees bent looking at the lit-up device. A missed call message was displayed on the screen with a certain set of seven numbers. Tilting her head, she silently mouthed the digits, hoping she might recognize them. She shrugged in defeat, snapped the phone closed and gently removed it from her sister's hand. Next thing she knew, she's dragging her sister down the hallway towards the bedroom, slowly but surely,

"Geez, Sis, you need to start laying off the pudding—" she grumbled before tripping onto her face.

XXX

_**Blood Laughs by Rachael Cantu_

_**Halcyon by Guardians of Atlantis_

The beach house was now painted a shade of blues and indigos, with a single candle on the back porch radiating a warm light in the blustery night. Sand littered the veranda's wood and the cracks stretching naturally among it. The steps leading off of it and towards the close beach front appeared to melt into the thick sand supporting the edge of the brush line. With the winds blowing the wrong way, the waves out in the dark ocean barely reached a foot and simply lapped quietly at the wet sands they bred with. Little ghost crabs also took note of the small waves, as they could approach the break even closer now without being washed away into the deep abyss.

The candle flame flickered as a gust of nightwind fluttered by with the sound of the tropics on its breath, but it remained strong, warm, and bright. The little, glass jar its strawberry-mango wax dwelled in also provided a bit of protection from the flights of air.

With her pink hair soaked and hanging over her shoulder, similar to her sister's style, Serah reclined on a woven futon with a pen in one hand and a piece of paper in another. Droplets of water dripped from her showered locks and trickled down her white and blue spaghetti-strap. The little dews fell onto the paper she was writing on, but she didn't mind—

—_I couldn't believe it; I was surfing for the first time! I'd always wanted to try it, don't get me wrong, but I felt…I don't know, different? But Maker, was it incredible. Floating on the water like that just blew me away. _

…_I wish you could've been there._

She continued writing before a drop fell onto those last words slowly smudging the ink like watercolor paints. A sniff emitted from the girl before she wiped her eye quickly—trying to hide her bursting emotions like her sister, Lightning, could.

* * *

><p>Rain pattered on the roof of the house creating a soft echo that sang through the hallway and into the bedrooms. A small patch of thunder rumbled, but it was quite a ways off the coast. The world outside was grey and silver, the sky, the waters, trees, and even the sand were all an ashen color. But the light from the hidden sun still seemed to light everything up and prevent the island from being engulfed in total darkness. The rain, of course, didn't stop the wildlife from its natural routine as gulls cried overhead and tropic birds enjoyed their perches in the treetops.<p>

Cold blue crystals gazed out at the colorless sea as fatigue finally swept away from Lightning's sore body with the tide. The walking had definitely taking its toll on the pink-haired woman, but she knew muscle would replace the ache she felt presently. Stretched out on her side, she looked out the large open window to her bedroom that faced the ocean; the thin, almost transparent, white curtains of the frame floated gently on the storm's breeze.

Stretching her left arm out, she pushed herself up to a sitting position propped up by that arm, her hair falling gently over her left shoulder like a rosy waterfall. She had been awake for at least half an hour, maybe more but she couldn't remember. Her dream was the same as now: her sitting in a white satiny bed while staring out at the dull ocean that lapped gingerly at the cold sand. Only in the dream, someone was out surfing on a white foamy wave.

The floor felt strangely warm as Light stepped down onto the wooden boards before making her way into the hall. She walked slowly, her face glued to the windows and shutters, anyway to look at the bleak ocean atmosphere. When she reached the kitchen, however, she gently pulled her eyes away to glance at the calendar neatly taped to the refrigerator door. A sigh escaped the twenty-one year olds' rosy lips as her icy eyes fell upon a certain date, the day having a giant red circle around it. No words were written—not even a note.

"_tch._"

Lightning turned away from the red-inked circle and marched over to the front door where the wall-hanger protruded from the side-wall. She grabbed a navy, zip-up hoodie and threw it on messily before proceeding quietly to the back of the house.

Just as she reached the back door that led out to the porch, Lightning came to a halt. She quietly turned around to see Serah curled up cutely on the couch, obviously having crashed on the way to her bedroom. A moment passed as Light simply gazed at her younger sister's innocent form. A sigh whispered past her lips before the older Farron smirked. A blue and yellow flannel blanket suddenly floated on top of the young girl, and was then gently tucked around her. Lightning made sure the fabric covered her sister's body to protect her from the storm's winds that blew in from the open door.

After she finished, she crouched down in front of Serah's face, which wore a simple visage of peace and tranquility. Hesitating at first, Lightning slowly reached her hand out to brush a couple of pink locks from the girl's face.

"Serah," she whispered in her customary serious tone before standing back up. "_Have a good day._"

A strange hint of sorrow edged her words, but the older Farron sister was out the door in a flash.

XXX

_**_ _Sables Emouvants by Eskadet_

"Yeah, Serah!"

"Woot!"

"You go girl, come on—"

Waves swirled all around, up and down, high and low; the sky was a shocking blue color, and the sun beat down hotly making the Serah's neck and back sweat. Crowds of people roared on the shore-front, strange intercom voices muted by their incessant cheering. Looking around with wide azure eyes, Serah Farron was sitting on a strange yellow and white designed board in the lineup of the ocean waters. She gasped as she realized where she was—the flags, the surfers on the shore, the stands where the judges sat—she was in a competition.

Suddenly a bright shock of color caught the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the left with an uneasy feeling welling up in the pit of her chest. Serah's breath caught in her throat…

Long locks of hair the color of a fierce blue wafted in the shrill ocean breeze. Bangs of the same shocking color fluttered along the top half of the figure's strikingly-framed face, and the character possessed the figure of a true, simple athlete. Her bikini was a burnt black, and the board she rode was a jet black gun tattooed with two blue stripes down the middle of its back. Three fins protruded from the bottom of its tail, and its nose was a perfect point. The form was like a living phantom, a breath of wonder floating on the water's surface.

"_Electric Blue" _Serah whispered to herself, still in shock of the other girl's presence.

She'd only seen the 'legend' once on that frazzled television screen, and it wasn't like she had exceptionally admired her before, but seeing her in person was beyond her mind's capacity. The aura of a true wonder emanated from the calm figure, sitting upright like a wise sage though at such a younger age. Serah could do nothing but stare in awe.

Suddenly, dark grey clouds rushed overhead, a roll of thunder brushing into the tropic scenery. A great tremor rippled through the water. The crowds on the beach evaporated away like dust, and a giant hump in the sea began to swell. Everything grew dark, and Serah grew afraid. The young girl's head quickly pivoted around in fear. She tried to shout words of inquiry, but they were stopped in the middle of her throat with a lump. When she returned her gaze to the surfer beside her, seeking aid from her, she was gone. A gasp escaped her delicate lips and her crystal blue eyes widened with fear.

Everything went quiet, but a hellish roar sliced right through the cold silence. Serah looked up and behind her to come face to face with a gargantuan wave, the foam on its edge clawing out towards her. The lump in her throat vanished as she let out an ear-piercing shriek of utter terror.

Shaking in fear of the colossal monster, Serah was crouched hugging her knees, her head buried against her thighs. The two feet she squatted on shook subtly as she breathed heavily. Finally realizing that she wasn't sinking nor floating, the younger Farron carefully lifted her head and opened her eyes, only to find herself in the hallway of a house. It was dark, but not night time. A soft orange ray seeped in through a small window to her left; it was sunset. But where the sun was setting, Serah wasn't quite sure.

"W-where am I?" she mumbled.

A string of inaudible words trickled down the hallway and into Serah's ears. She twisted her face into one of confusion before standing up and brushing herself off.

Stepping lightly, she made her way down the corridor the beautiful, cherry-wood boards beneath her creaked faintly, obviously belonging to a house of some years. She peaked carefully around the corner to see a wide living room and the front door, but no one was there.

"Ah!" Serah cried out in pain, a sudden sting shooting into her skull.

Voices began to echo violently around her, words now becoming perceptible as the young girl grasped her aching head and squeezed her eyes shut.

"_When are you going to learn—"_

Strange shadowy figures began to float across the room, racing in Serah's mind.

"_You don't understand!"_

"_Quit chasing these stupid dreams and face reality!"_

One was by the door, and two were spread out to the one.

"_I will never stop running—!"_

"_This is your life—stop wasting it with ridiculous fantasies."_

Filled with sheer agony, Serah took another struggling steps towards the faceless figures, her hands never leaving her panging skull,

"Stop…" she cried softly but earnestly.

"_How can you be so selfish; think of her."_

"_This is more than just—!"_

With one hand grasping her pink locks violently to seize the pain, Serah's other hand grabbed the wall for support, tears forming on the edges of her brilliant blue eyes.

"Stop it!"

"_I'm not going. You can't make me! I'll never leave—"_

"_Never!"_

Serah dropped to her knees now clutching her ears with both delicate hands to block out the disturbing voices as tears seeped from her tightly shut eyes.

_Never…._

Her mouth opened wide, and a feral scream shook her core,

"STOP!"

* * *

><p>BUM BUM BUM BUUUUUUUMMM!<p>

Wow, sorry for all the serious stuff guyz. I've been writing my actual book lately, which unfortunately has very little comedy in it and is written with an overload of descriptions and boring words, THUS I think I started writing this a bit seriously too...

Tell me what you think!

R&R if you like :3

until next time...


	10. Chapter 10

Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late as usual /shot/, but I had a blast writing this one. Summer break starts in three weeks for me, so school's been crazy, college searching's been crazy, LIFE's been crazy! Anyway, the latest chapter of _Electric_ _Blue_...IS HERE

_Thank you everyone for supporting me with this story. It makes my day to see a new reader come across my story, a new review, old reviews, faves and alerts, even a simple hello on my profile page. You all are awesome, and I hope you will enjoy the rest of this insane, crazy story._

Here are my responses to unsigned reviews :)

_eleanorlavish - _Loved the pun, and thank you so much for the review and support :D

_rosepatel_ - bahahahaaaaa thank you! And yes, Cloud and Lightning in general are adorable x3. There are a ton of really good ones lately-you should check'em out!

_Tony B - _Oh yeah, it's definitely an evil force ;3. Hehe, you'll just have to keep reading, and I hope you enjoy this update!

Enjoy, you crazy yammies you~

**DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy and its property, characters, and themes all belong to SE! I only own my story and OC's. Hawaii owns itself. I am writing this story for he entertainment of the readers. I do not make any money from them.**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter<em> _X: Silver_ _Lining_

_*** Rusted Walls by Kim Churchill_

_*** Down Down Down by The Expendables_

Sweat beaded along Serah's cold forehead, and some small droplets of it trickled down her temples and cheek bones. She panted heavily as she lied still under a blanket which was barely even covering her. The images she had just seen constantly played in her mind, but the young girl remained unmoving, her eyes wide and emotionless. She suddenly rolled over onto her left side, now facing towards the open back door and the solemn ocean.

"A dream…?" she mumbled with a quizzical tone while wiping the sweat from her forehead.

*Knock. Knock. Knock.*

Making a cute noise from being startled, the eighteen-year-old looked around to see what the time was. She rolled onto her stomach and leaned over the arm of the couch to get a better look at the clock that was positioned on the opposite wall.

'_5:40…you've got to be kidding me.' _She thought before pushing down with her hands to push herself up.

She twisted her legs to get them over the edge of the couch before another set of knocks sounded from the main foyer. Twisting oddly, Serah peaked over the head of the couch to shout towards the door, now attempting to move her legs off the cushions.

"Coming—umph!"

Like a newborn giraffe, the girl's legs became tangled in the blanket and slid off the couch without warning. Serah landed on the cold, hard wood floor awkwardly, losing her breath for the moment.

"Just a minute!" she struggled to call out, trying to shake free of the fabric's vicious hold on her lower half.

An array of sounds erupted from inside the beach house before the knob on the front door began to rattle noisily. The door opened inward as Serah pulled back on the handle and her eyebrows rose in surprise at who stood before her. With the biggest smile in all of Oahu, the familiar strawberry-haired surfer rocked back and forth on her feet, her emerald eyes striking in the barely lit, grey world.

"Vanille…?" Serah croaked, opening the door a bit more.

The girl's cute, curled pigtails bounced as she stopped rocking and returned to a footed standing.

"Need a lift?" she chirped cheerily.

Serah tilted her head to the right curiously as she spotted an old blue car on the sandy road a ways from the house. Suddenly, a pink, curly tuft of hair sprung upward from the young Farron's head of bed-hair (or rather, _couch_ hair) causing a groan to emit from her, her eyes shutting tiredly. The early hour that which she was awake at and the fact that she had little to no sleep finally hit her poor, aching body as she crumpled inward a bit.

Vanille's green eyes widened a bit before her hand crept up to Serah's face, her index finger poking the spring of hair playfully,

"Hmm… Guess you're not used to beach hours yet."

XXX

The sand beneath her feet felt like rocks due to the humidity, and on days like these Lightning just couldn't exert as much energy. The grey sapped her spirit like negativity, and without the rain, everything just felt dry.

She panted heavily as she neared her destination: The Katz Shack. Owned, managed, built, and terrorized by ol' man Sazh Katzroy, her boss.

Gripping the open entrance's framework, Lightning sighed as she was about to enter,

"Sorry I'm a bit late…" her words trailed off at the sight of a strange man in the shop talking to Sazh.

With a buzzed head and dark glasses atop the thin pasture-like hair, the man's dark blue eyes glared fervently at the afro-man in front of him. The guy fixed his tie promptly with his wide stretched fingers,

"—I'm a busy man with a tight schedule, so answer the question." The tone of the large man was clearly irritated, and with his get-up of a suit and tie the situation seemed fishy.

Sazh crossed his arms behind the balsa-palm counter and glared at the creep.

"Look, I haven't seen the hermit in years, a'ight? Last I heard, the _shea*_ was flyin' to the Indo Islands." He replied sternly.

Silence hovered between the two men, one patient and the other losing his. Growling lowly, the suit and tie gave a groan of defeat before puffing out his chest like a tropic bird.

"…I've got my eye on you, old man." Pointing his index and middle fingers on his right hand at his own eyes, the mysterious man shot them back at Sazh in a threatening gesture before turning to leave.

The looming giant marched towards the doorway causing Lightning to gasp inaudibly. She ducked to the side of the hut as the sound of the man's stomping exited the shack and faded away.

Scratching his fuzzy afro, Sazh simply returned to work with a groan picking up a bar of wax.

Lightning, pretending to be unfazed by the whole scene, sauntered into the shack and started her day by filling a work-carafe with water from the grimy sink. It stuck out oddly with the pipe showing and everything, but there was a cute charm about the shabby mess of the hut. As Sazh would say, _"just keepin' it real—"_; Light could practically hear the old pro surfer mumble the phrase in her ears.

Suddenly, a pair of tiny arms wrapped around the pinkette's legs causing her to gasp. She was lucky she didn't trip with the water pitcher in her hands.

"Light-boo!"

Lightning looked down at her legs to see a small dark-skinned boy hugging her legs cutely, his big round eyes gazing up at her like she was his hero. On top of his head, a small afro similar to a certain _old man_.

'_Light-boo'?_

Masking a surfacing smirk (in an attempt to play it cool), the Farron sister tried to twist free,

"Dajh—" she mumbled.

Sazh, noticing the shack was way too loud for just his coworker, stepped out from behind the counter and made his way over to the two kids.

"Hey, hey come on, son. Leave grouchy alone." He laughed as he pulled his son, Dajh, away from the woman.

"_Grouchy_…?" Lightning growled with a raised eyebrow

Sazh ignored her comment and continued to gabble things about 'grabbing ladies' and 'off-limits' to his young mini-self as he bent down to the boy's level of height.

The twenty-one year old muttered a sound under her breath as she turned back to her task at hand, "_tch._"

XXX

_*** Fishing Hole – Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess OST_

The sand felt cool under Serah's bare feet and legs. The wind briskly whipped across the dunes catching particles of sand and a few shells along with it. It continued along the beach like a wave in the atmosphere, brushing a bit harshly against the young girl's face that was blushed by the curt chill. Oahu rarely reached temperatures this low in the summer, but when rogue squalls and windstorms passed by or over the island the air itself became frigid and cold. Luckily, the tempest was only passing by, thus the rain wasn't too harsh or heavy and presently reached a break.

Digging her toes hopefully under the pallid sands in search of warmth, Serah snuggled fervently into her cozy, gray "Oxford" hoodie. Wearing dark blue, chic shorts for the beach, the girl put most of her trust in her hoodie for keeping her warm.

Whooping and excited calls echoed from the lineup in the grey, feisty water. Serah turned her focus to the sounds to see a certain red-head male dropping in a medium-sized wave on an orange and white gun board. With a bumpy ride down, the surfer, Reno, quickly leaned back on the tail of his board to bring the nose up, which allowed for a smooth ride out of the wave. A grin appeared on the young spectator's gentle lips.

When the wave crashed longingly into the water below it, an array of figures appeared on the lineup which was apparently positioned over an underwater reef, so Serah was told. Snow, Vanille, and the rest of the gang chatted cheerily amongst each other while laughing and splashing comically, completely unfazed by the light grey skies, lack of other surfers, and the rain that had been pouring minutes before. The shower had let up and diminished to occasional drizzles, but for the moment the skies remained cloudy yet dry.

*Snap*

Clicking the shutter button on the camera, Serah grinned gently as she brought the instrument down from her face.

'_At least it's light enough to take some good shots. I've never really taken any on rainy days…'_

She continued to snap a few more photographs before the sound of footsteps resonated behind her as the feet sunk quietly into the sand. Serah lowered the camera into her lap as she glanced up and to her left to see a figure of tan skin standing next to her

Her eyes widening a bit, the young, pink-haired girl couldn't help but stare at the profile of the beautiful Yun Fang as if she were simply a statue that had appeared before her. The woman's emerald green eyes flickered in the silver light of the sky like the actual jewels causing Serah to be in even more awe.

With only a navy blue, unzipped hoodie to cover her, Fang simply wore a black, strapless bikini top and some shorts similar to Serah's only dark brown. Serah blushed lightly at how much skin the woman showed, impressed by the confidence of the surfer, but she wondered why she wasn't out there surfing with the others.

Bending her legs less than gracefully, the dark-haired woman plopped herself down next to Serah before bending her left knee to throw her arm over and stretching the other leg out as she propped herself up with her right arm. She dug her bare feet into the sand like a child as she watched Vanille surf through an A-frame tube.

Flicking her crystal blue eyes to her left to catch whatever glance she could of the intimidating surfing warrior, Serah managed to speak up through a soft stutter,

"Why are they all surfing today?"

Completely unfazed by the girl's question, Fang simply nodded her head upward signaling towards the others.

"Take a look, sunshine," She spoke with a deep ozzie accent. "Whaddaya' see?"

Serah turned her head to face the older woman with a questioning look adorned on her face. The pinkette swore she saw experience embedded in the tan woman's brow and peridot irises. A blush crept onto the young surfer's cheeks as she realized she was blatantly staring at Fang, and quickly turned her gaze back to face the grey waters.

"Um, a grey ocean, a lotta clouds, and them surfing. Other than that, there's nothing else—"

"_Exactly_." A soft grin grew on Fang's face, the first Serah had seen.

Reno began to paddle fiercely against the monochromatic waters as a large hump chased his board's tail. The swell grew into a mediocre-sized curl, but the tube still formed beautifully, and the bright red-head surfed casually through the frame with his left hand outstretched to touch the inner wall of the wave. Liquid sprayed from his fingertips, and the foam bubbling on his outside filtered through his flaring nostrils, the smell of pure ocean filling his entire body. The young man smirked as he finished the wave with his small braid whisking in the wind.

The sound of the water crashing echoed along the shoreline and resonated in both of the sitting girls' ears. Lifting her toes out of the sand, Fang sighed before burying them back into the beach soil,

"Rainy days are the best for surfing. No competition and no pesky landlubbah's. Mos' surfers turn tail and stay inside, but the real surfers…" A brisk wind ruffled the woman's dark hair and Serah's pink ponytail, but the color in Fang's eyes seemed to glow. "The real ones know an opportunity when they see one."

Serah continued to watch her friends surf as their laughter rolled in with the tide, but she couldn't help glancing over at the woman beside her. Her deep emerald eyes, mature facial features, even her tone, despite the casual edge, reminded her of one person in particular. _Claire_. Well, at least she was Claire until recently. _Lightning_…what made her change…?

"I apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was uncalled for—" The Australian woman spoke strongly, yet the shame was evident in her words.

The sound of Fang's voice interrupted Serah's thoughts abruptly, causing her to jump a bit. Her eyebrows furrowed uneasily as she looked back down at her bare feet.

"No, Fang, I should be the one to apologize. I don't know anything about surfing, and I really am just an amateur. I'm sorry if I was disrespectful in any way…"

A cool smirk grew on the older surfer's beautiful lips. Surprise surged through Serah as Fang punched her playfully in the shoulder, causing the young Farron to gawk at the woman curiously. When Serah's eyes met Fang's, a lightning strike struck her core as she finally saw the true mystery and beauty in the woman's deep jade eyes, the color of shiny, green sea glass. But there was something else there…something Serah wasn't sure she was ready to see. _Pain_.

Fang's eyes closed as she turned her head back to face the ocean. A shouting Gadot fell off of his board on a wave as a laughing Yuj surfed away, obviously having pushed his superior.

"Eh, you're cool, sunshine. It's just… Surfing's more than just a sport. I know it sounds like rubbish to ya', but it took me a lotta years to learn that." Fang took a great inhale before continuing. "It's different for everyone. For some, it's a passion, other's—relaxation. You have to find your own reason." "But never abuse it. Surfing is not meant to be a way to fame and fortune."

As she listened to the pretty surfer's words of wisdom, Serah involuntarily reached for the necklace around her neck with her right hand, carefully running her fingertips over the shells.

"Thanks, Fang." Serah hummed, stroking the lucky charm.

With a flicker of her eyes, Fang caught sight of the beads and grinned with a laugh,

"Lookie here," She sung as she scooted closer to the younger girl to get a better look. "Puka beads, eh? You know they're lady luck's—"

"_Favorite_. I know." Serah finished the other woman's sentence with a smile, her focus completely on the necklace.

Fang pulled her head back in surprise before chuckling softly, causing Serah to beam inside.

"Geez, girl, you really 'ave been hangin' round dem airheads too long." She smirked as she cast her gaze away.

The sound of the sand shifting next to her caused Serah to look up from her charm to see Fang on both feet with her hands on her hips.

The Australian gal dipped her head with her eyes tranquilly closed,

"Well, surf's safe if ya wanna join."

Serah turned her head and neck to follow the woman's form as she walked away, but the older surfer halted and turned around before speaking once more.

"But if ya see any lightnin' get out, _aye_?"

Serah smiled at the advice, her icy eyes shimmering,

"Aye!" she saluted seriously in a joking manner. Fang grinned before raising her hand with a simple wave.

XXX

_*** Slow Mood Music Instrumental - relaxdaily N°036_

Dropping a bundle of boards in front of the shack outside, Lightning sat down against the bamboo front-side of the little hut. Grabbing the first of the boards, a striking, lime green fish-board, the pink-haired woman commenced in cleaning the boards with a sponge, bristle brush, and the pitcher from before. Her fingers graced delicately over the foam board as she applied a special soap and wax to the surface before scrubbing it gently.

Thunder grumbled in the distance, and suddenly the sound of rain echoed almost inaudibly in the air. Light continued her job though, the old palm-leaf roof above her covered a good five feet away from the wall she leaned against, so the rain would only brush her toes if she stretched them out.

Rain pattered on the hut and on one of the silver boards that stuck out from the covering area. The smell of the ocean mixed with rainwater filled Lightning's head like a salty incense calming her senses and allowing her to simply drift away with the stormy tide.

As she moved on to the next board, her hand churned in circles with the bar of wax over the surface of the white surface. A small hand suddenly appeared next to hers on the board causing her to halt her actions. Looking to her left, the woman saw little Dajh patting the board with his hand,

"Light-boo, what are you doing?" he inquired cutely as he continued to dab his fingers on the waxy surface.

The pinkette's signature serious expression remained plastered on her face, and she began to rub the bar on the board in circles again.

"Waxing." She stated softly.

A huge grin swelled on the young boy's face as he then proceeded to sit down next to his taller friend. He scooted closer to her to watch, his knees hugged to his chest,

"Why?"

The question made Lightning chortle briefly before attempting to explain to the boy how the physics of waxing worked.

"Well, if you want to stand on one, you need wax." The Farron sister was about to stop talking all together, but she quickly realized another innocent 'why?' would probably follow.

She pulled the bar of wax off the board and put it in her lap before dipping her hands in the water pitcher to her right

"The substance creates traction, which gives the bottom of your feet something to naturally grip on to. It's like a violin; you need rosin on a bow for traction. Otherwise, it just squeaks."

Lightning didn't even think about her large vocabulary in response to the child's inexperienced dictionary, but the puzzlement in Dajh's mind was evidently visible on his face. Silence hovered between the two as the woman wetted the board and began to wax it again.

"…surf boards _squeak_?" Ironically, the boy's voice squeaked as the words left his mouth.

Her ice blue eyes widening, Light turned to look at the small boy before giving one of her rare genuine smiles,

"It keeps you from falling off the board, kid." She said before ruffling Dajh's afro.

The boy smiled and laughed, finally understanding the explanation. The sight of Lightning's own smile made his even wider.

Reaching out with his small fingers, Dajh grasps some of the pink strands that rest over the woman's left shoulder.

"Hey, Light-boo." He inquired mildly.

The Farron sister snorted as she looked at his hand, unmoving. The nickname was really getting to her.

"Didn't you wax your hair, once?"

Light's face turned a cherry red hue before she pivoted her head and now glaring, crystal-blue eyes towards the entrance of the shack.

"SAZH!"

Her screech echoed along the beachfront and into the hut like a catcall, causing the older man to begin fumbling the object he was cleaning in the air. Catching it with a sigh, Sazh held the old dusty thing in his hand, a rag in his other. In his calloused hand was a photograph with one of the edges slightly torn and a water mark on the other corner. In the picture, Sazh was standing on a white, sandy beach with a huge goofy grin painted across his less wrinkled face. His arm was wrapped around the shoulders of a younger girl with beautiful pink hair and striking blue eyes, who was not too happy about the close hug.

The older man laughed.

"Here we go…" he mumbled softly with a knowing smirk on his face, setting the picture down on the counter top.

* * *

><p>*shea - a crazy but awesome surfer girl, or simply an incredibly talented surfer girl<p>

Thanks for reading! I wrote the last part of the chapter on my front porch because the weather was so nice. Aaaahhh, thank goodness for the summer :D

I'd really like to hear what you all think about this story. I'm always curious what you all are thinking...waffflllleeesssssssss

with toast :3

Until Next Time...:)


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone! I missed you all so much, and it's so great to be back. But honestly, it feels so weird getting back on since I've neglected my stories for so long...*teardrop*. I hope you all are well, and that there is plenty of nutella and peanut butter to go around :3

Thank you so much, reviewers, for all of the lovely, honest, and positive feedback! **You all rock my world 3**

But I'm not gonna bore you guys with all my drama and stuff because it really isn't that interesting :)

SO-Here is the latest (short) update of _Electric_ _Blue. Enjoy! :D_

_**DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy and its property, characters, and themes all belong to SE! I only own my story and OC's. Hawai'i owns itself. I am writing this story for he entertainment of the readers. I do not make any money from them.**_

* * *

><p><em>Chapter XI: Churning Fate<em>

Water sprayed wildly against Serah's back from a crashing wave as she paddled towards her friends in the lineup. Snow was the first to greet her.

"Hey! You're still in one piece." He bellowed with a toothy grin as he sat tall on his board.

When the young girl reached the group, she sat up on her blue and purple gun-board, courtesy of Lebreau.

"What?" Serah asked with a laugh, ringing out her ponytail as she did so.

"Seeing you sitting there with the _dragonlady_," he said. "We were a bit worried she might've roughed you up."

"Of course not! Fang's really nice. In fact, I bet she's secretly a big ol' softie."

This earned an uproar of laughter from the group of surfers. They continued to banter about farfetched and silly things on how Fang was also _secretly_ a belly dancer and that she _secretly _hoarded pudding in her shack.

The sky was still grey and streaked with low clouds, but the rain had let up completely on this side of the island. However, from the look of the darker skies far out at sea it looked like the storms would be back after noon.

It was strange; Serah didn't feel a bit cold. She wondered how it could be that she didn't feel a single shiver or splash of iciness while being in the brisk ocean waters. There were no gulls aloft in the air, and the sand crabs remained in their holes. It seemed at times that she and the others and the sea were the only things alive in this haunting yet beautiful grey world.

After the tenth wave, Serah lost count and track of time. She was having so much fun just talking with the others and practicing her paddling with the bigger waves. Not quite ready to take on the big kahunas just yet, she would simply paddle as hard as she could up to the edge of the curl and then back off. The others would do it too to work on their upper body strength, but everyone was simply chilling out in the shimmering, silver waters under the sterling sky.

Suddenly a flash flickered brightly and a bolt streaked through the cracks of the sky. Everyone's eyes turned upward. Within seconds a monstrous grumble surged through the air.

"Alright guys, everyone out!" Gadot bellowed as he pointed towards shore.

No complaints were heard, only the sound of paddling and water splashing. No one particularly liked the thought of being struck by lightning, but everyone still took their time getting to shore not wanting to leave the waters.

Serah had to shake her head to leave her thoughts as the others began to paddle away without her. Truth be told, she didn't want to leave, despite the fact that it was dangerous and her hands looked like raisins. She looked all around once more and then out to sea. It was beautiful. Suddenly, strange gray object bobbed in the water a few meters out. Serah squinted her icy blue eyes to get a better look and then widened in fear as the objects came into focus.

Grey fins stuck out of the water like buoys, bobbing in and out of the water. _Sharks_ was the first word that came to the girl's muted lips, but then she saw a tail rise from the waters.

The smile of a happy child spread across her face. The fins belonged to a pod of bottlenose dolphins, swimming near the sandbar, probably herding fish towards the shallows so they could catch them.

The eighteen-year-old had never seen the creatures before, but she knew at once they were beautiful and powerful guardians of the sea.

"Serah, you alright?" Snow, of course, called out in worry.

The pinkette turned her head to see the blonde-black beanie haired man waiting for her on his board. She let out a small laugh,

"Yeah. Just…admiring, that's all—" she mumbled the last words.

Snow grinned before waving her in, waiting patiently on his gun as she paddled towards him with smooth, long strokes.

XXX

A dirty towel in her hand, which was now equally greasy and blackened from cleaning, Lightning sighed with a tinge of annoyance rimming her breath. She didn't mind cleaning, in fact it was rather soothing, but she just couldn't help but feel agitated while cleaning the Hut. It was _always_ sooty, sandy, and smelled like shellfish and sawdust. The old man had a passion for raw oysters off the shell, and often had them personally shipped in to the island. Though she wasn't sure, the pinkette liked to believe Sazh owned his own oyster farm.

She shook her head with a soft grin as she went behind the main desk to dust some more. She picked up a couple of jars filled with Maker knows what and was satisfied with only cleaning the outside of the container. She made her way around the old thing until she came upon a small picture laying out beside the cash register. Its edges were torn and looked as if something small had nibbled them for a snack.

For the first time in a long while, Lightning's true feelings visually surfaced. She felt both nostalgia, joy, anger and hurt; her eyes relaxed while her jaw clenched. She continue to gaze at the two faces smiling at her in the photograph, and for a moment she thought she saw the two people move.

A clatter of noise abruptly shook the hut as a dozen boards suddenly collapsed in a heap near the front entrance causing Lightning to jump. Standing in the doorway was a familiar spiky-haired man with a guilty look on his face, his hand stuck in a reaching out position that was originally trying to keep the board he bumped into from falling over. Coughing awkwardly he pulled his hand back and held it up,

"Hey," as he stepped forward his foot ran into another stack, and an additional few boards fell into the pile.

Lightning watched him with both a confused and still-startled look on her face, her blue eyes bright and flashing.

Cloud stood still for a moment before he replied in a deep, raspy voice.

"…I can fix that."

A smirk struck the woman's face as she placed the picture down and walked out from behind the counter. Throwing the towel aside, she made her way to the pile of boards and proceeded to grab the one on top.

"Here—" Cloud said as he grabbed the next few.

In silence, the two continued to restack and line up the boards against the hut's tiki wall. The blonde held a red board in his hands as he spoke again,

"I'm sorry for startling you. Your boss said you were working, so I tried to come in quietly."

"You know Sazh?" Lightning asked quietly, still recovering from the reminiscence with the photograph.

Cloud dusted off a board with his hand as he finished another stack,

"I ran into him a few minutes ago in the lot down the cove. He told me to tell you that he just dropped Dajh off at school and will be back soon," he paused before leaning against the wall with a gentle smirk on his face. "And to not ditch work to go on another tour."

Lightning snorted softly, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. The boards were finally back up and organized, if not neater than before. A hushed silence hovered between the two as they stood facing each other at opposite ends of the hut.

Cloud stuck his hands in his pockets, leaned his head back and exhaled.

"I'm leaving O'ahu with the others to go back to Newcastle—the surfing event; the one I told you about—apparently, we have to head back early."

A shimmering glow leapt around in the two pairs of blue eyes and the silence grew heavier.

Lightning's heart sank. Genuinely dropped to her stomach along with her gaze focusing on the sandy floor, but not because this nice guy she just met was now up and leaving without any notice. She was upset because for the first time in months—she was having fun. She went into town, and she's had something to look forward to.

"But," the blonde started, pulling something out of his pocket. "I have an extra ticket."

The woman's eyes looked up.

"I know we just met, but I'd really like for you to come. People from all over come to surf and spectate, and the beaches are beautiful." He stepped closer to her with the ticket in his hand grinning, hoping he could persuade her.

The nervous butterflies were literally eating the guy alive, and with Lightning's constant gaze staring patiently at him, he couldn't help but feel the pressure of her stare.

He caught her cringing at his words though, but the reason as to why came to him instantly.

"And there are also a lot of sights to see and quiet coves, if crowds aren't your thing." He added with a soft grin.

Feelings of anxiety swarmed Lightning's head as worrisome notions flashed by her eyes: uproars, masses of people, strangers and leaving Serah. Her sister was old enough though; surely she could take care of herself for a week or two. Then the ocean flooded her thoughts. And finally, her true feelings escaped,

_'I don't want to be stuck here forever…'_

Her body relaxed, but her expression remained the same. Somber and almost mysterious, Cloud was so in awe at the woman's beautiful eyes and facial features, that he didn't even notice her playful smirk appear almost instantly.

She gently nodded her head, the smile on her lips warm and honest.

Their eyes met, both two shades of blue. Cloud smiled, her smile alone washing away all his feelings of concern and worry.

And then, like a devious cat, she snatched the ticket from his hand,

"Only if I get a tour guide _for_ _free_."

Cloud snorted with a laugh, "Man, I'm going broke here…"

* * *

><p>I am truly sorry for disappearing on all of you all... I miss writing, but I'm still in the process of applying to colleges, filling out applications, writing essays, and keeping my grades up in school. Senior year has been fun, but really hard. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this lil' update!<p>

_You all are amazing. You are my inspiration, my muse, and what keeps me going through the tough times. We all have some pretty rough rides out there, but the ocean's always blue, and the waves keep on rolling~_

**Until Next Time... :3**


	12. Chapter 12

**ALOHA! **WELL this is a quicker update than usual :). I really liked writing this chapter, I'm not gonna lie haha._  
><em>

I hope you all have been well, and _HAPPY THANKSGIVING_! (to those of you who are AMURRICAN! xD). Aaaaannnddddddd, I have news! bbbrrrrrrrrrrruuuummmmmmmmmm *drumroll* I got into college! **WHOOP-DEE-WHOOOOP! **I'm still waiting for my number one to reply back with their answer, but it's settled-Imma be a college chick next year :D

But aside from my personal stuff fufufufuuu, I started another story

Your thoughts probably:_ (LUX! WHAT R U THINKIN GURLLL?)_

Well, I just needed a story where I could let out my personal emotions and opinions, aaannndd use as an excuse to write a songfic. Seriously though, I'm writing my very first Happy Feet fanfic called** _Keep Me Waiting_**. If you're a fan of the penguin-tapping movies, it would mean the world to me if you checked it out :)

ANYWAY! Here's the latest installment of _Electric Blue :D_

_**DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy and its property, characters, and themes all belong to SE! I only own my story and OC's. Hawai'i owns itself. DDR owns itself. I am writing this story for the entertainment of readers. I do not make any money from it.**_

* * *

><p><em>Chapter XII: Arrows Drawn<em>

_"Oooohhh! You spin me right round, baby, right round!"_

_"Like a record player, turn me round, right round—!"_

All of the gang sang out of key and in different volumes as they both laughed and cheered their team mates on in a competition of Dance Dance Revolution. Lebreau was working her feet like crazy as she remained in the lead. Her raven black hair tossed back and forth as she jumped up and down. Next to her, on another small, arrow-covered, dancing stage, was Maqui, who was failing miserably at the sport.

The two continued to dance their little hearts out for the next couple of seconds before the song ended. Both Lebreau and the younger boy were exhausted, panting like dogs and gripping their sides.

Colorful and popping text scrolled onto the screen of the plasma television.

_Lebreau—AWESOME!_

_Maqui—BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME_

"Awww, man! You gotta be kidding me…" Maqui groaned as he collapsed on the floor.

"Way to take one for the team." Gadot laughed as he ruffled Maqui's hair.

The girls squealed loudly with an uproar of laughs and snorts following,

"Girls—Awesome. Boys—LOSERS." Lebreau wiped her forehead and smirked at the group of men who were obviously the girls' opposing team. All of the guys were sitting around a large sofa chair. The girls, placed to the left, were sprawled out on a couple of blankets and large bean bags.

"That's it. I'm calling it quits." Gadot grumbled with a hidden smile, glad to be out of the humiliation as he stood up to head into the kitchen.

"And to think I had faith in _man_kind." Reno sobbed with a sniff as he opened a white packet containing a sea salt ice cream.

XXX

The gang, after spending the early morning hours on the water, had returned to their shared beach condo. The rain storm outside had naturally canceled all of the planned surfing training, since the lightning proved to be a danger even to the pro's. Deciding not to waste the day, everyone had agreed on a competitive game of DDR, which the men were obviously now regretting. 'Loser' was in charge of lunch.

"Alright boys, kitchen's all yours." Fang cooed pointing towards the menacing location.

All of the boys sighed.

As the men chopped lettuce and grilled salted chicken tenders, the girls made themselves comfortable in the main living room. As if a whirlwind had struck the room, dozens of piles of photographs were strewn out all over the floor and furniture from being dumped out of a cardboard box.

Serah walked into the room, having just gone to wash her face of the sweat she had acquired from her last dance-off. Seeing the pictures everywhere caused her to stop completely in her tracks and her eyes to widen.

_'What in Maker's name?'_ she mouthed silently.

Vanille caught sight of her friend's shocked expression and smiled. She leaned up from her reclined position over the back of the couch, which was spotted with photographs,

"We usually just throw the photos we take with disposable cameras in this box."

Serah replied with a calmer-looking expression, reaching down to pick up a stray image.

It was a picture of Maqui and Yuj, and Lebreau giving them both noogies at the same time.

"These are from last year and earlier this year—" the red-head continued.

"Some were taken here, and some in Newcastle." Lebreau said, shifting her legs as she sat in an L-shape over the recliner looking at a handful of photos.

In it stood Snow and a couple of other guys she didn't recognize around him all holding their boards in one hand while holding their other hand up in the "hang loose" gesture—thumb and pinkie extended outward.

Serah smiled before sitting on the floor next to Vanille, who was comfortably sprawled on the couch, her pigtails hanging off the front edge,

"Who are all of these guys?" Serah asked.

Vanille turned her head to look, "Oh! Those are the Newcastle boys. Most of'em don't surf professionally—just for fun," she pointed at one of the men. "That's Leon, and that one's Seifer."

Serah glanced over each person and snorted when she looked at one of the other guys. A spikey, green-eyed, red-head was making a funny face while smooshing the face the of the guy next to him. Vanille noticed her friend's amusement at the particular character and giggled,

"The prankster? Yeah, that's—"

"Yo, ladies!" Yuj interrupted as he peeped around the corner. "Permission to steal the new girl."

"Oy, you can't just make'r do your work in there! Permission not granted." Fang snapped back at the blue-haired boy as she leaned against the wall, her arms crossed.

Crickets chirped as the other girls besides Fang continued to flip through photographs. Looking at Fang, he made a face and slowly replied,

"It's for the…_potatoes_." Yuj winked with a huge load of emphasis, opening his mouth into a strange, lopsided grin and flicking his hair.

Fang squinted her eyes in disapproval and made a face back at the guy,

_'What the bloody 'ell?'_ she thought.

Then Reno's head appeared behind Yuj's. He cupped his mouth,

_POOOTATOOOEESSS _- he mouthed.

Silence hovered between the two boys and the tan woman.

Fang "oh"-ed.

Subtly giving the two a thumbs up, the boys disappeared around the corner and headed back to the kitchen.

"Serah." She said with a simple voice.

The pinkette glanced up from the pictures in her hands,

"Yeah?"

"Could you assist the gent's real quick. They're a hopeless bunch a' idiots."

Serah smirked and laughed, "Sure, no problem."

She stood from her spot and let the photos fall from her hands as she made her way around the corridor. The eyes of the three girls remaining in the room followed the young woman, their eyebrows raising and a smile forming on each of their lips.

_***Blindsided by Bon Iver_

Walking down a long corridor, Serah was about to continue to the end where the kitchen was when she spotted a piece of paper on the hardwood floor. The white sheet had a sharpie-drawn arrow pointing left. Looking at it inquisitively Serah picked it up before turning her head to stare in the direction the arrow guided, which led to a steep, short-stepped flight of wooden stairs with a wall on either side.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she placed her dainty foot onto the first step and continued to climb. Yuj and Reno peeped into the corridor the young girl had just exited and grinned, giving each other a quiet high five.

About four steps up, the white wall turned into windows, where she could look out and see the grey yet beautiful world outside. Rained pattered against the glass, a soft hum echoing in the thin stairwell. Serah slowed her step as she gazed out the windows. The silver ocean waters churned like liquid being sloshed around in a giant pot, but with the sound of their crashes silenced they seemed almost calm and tender in their wake. Placing her hand gently on the glass, Serah continued her ascent.

As her foot made contact with the final steps, the stairs opened up into a wide, unfurnished room. The floor was covered in the same stained hardwood as the steps and downstairs, and in the corner were about eight folded mats of varying colors. With the outer walls made completely of glass, she could see everything around her: the beach, the dunes, and the long line of other beach condos neighboring down the vacant coast. The great leaves of two palm trees fluttered near the right side of the room outside almost touching the glass.

Her blue eyes dimmed in color due to the grey atmosphere, but the shimmer of curio in her eye couldn't be covered. She set the paper in her hand down, and walked towards the glass wall in front of her, completely mesmerized by the sight before her.

The wood behind her creaked. The pinkette turned her head to see who it was, only to find herself face to face with Snow.

She wanted to grin, but the beauty of the room, the rain, and the ocean still held her emotions captive.

Snow smirked,

"Hey."

The grin appeared.

"Hi."

He stepped toward her nonchalantly as she allowed her eyes to look around the room some more.

"This is the 'zen' room. Yoga, meditating, napping, whatever relaxes you." His voice echoed quietly in the room.

Serah put her hands together behind her back.

"It's really something." She exhaled, the words flowing out of her mouth.

The girl turned back to face the window-wall, Snow joined beside her, a foot between them.

Coughing with intent, the larger man tilted his head upward.

"I can't believe it—" the burly blonde uttered. "You've been with us for only a couple of days, and have managed to win over everyone."

Serah looked up at Snow, her blue eyes wide but calm.

Secretly hiding on the top of the staircase, Vanille, Lebreau, Maqui, Yuj and Reno watched quietly.

"I mean, what's not to like? You're kind, funny, talented…_pretty._"

Lebreau and Yuj smacked their foreheads and Maqui shook his head.

_ 'Pretty? Really, Snow?' _Lebreau thought.

_'Get it together, man!' _Reno thought loudly.

Vanille simply grinned and patted Lebreau on the shoulder. The other members of the gang joined behind them, minus Vincent and Fang.

"It took me weeks—months just for the gang to let me speak without having to address everyone as 'his lordship' or 'royal surfer-queen'."

Serah laughed out loud at this, picturing Snow kissing the feet of a regal Reno dressed up in fancy 1600's attire, crown and all. The blonde laughed too.

"You're our friend, Serah. New, and still learning how to speak 'surfer', but nevertheless," he said, looking her in the eye. "You're one of the team, now."

Pulling out a plane ticket and another entry ticker for the Open, Snow held the papers to his left side towards Serah. The moment the girl caught sight of the tickets, a hand involuntarily went up to her mouth, but stopped halfway over her chest. The boys of the group on the stairwell squealed quietly, the girl's rolling their eyes.

"We've got a spot saved for you, and it would be awesome if you'd come. It's the best surfing in the world, and the rest of the gang would love to meet you."

"There's more?" Serah asked with a grin, poking at the hilarious oddity of the members of the group.

Snow snorted, reaching his hand out towards her, papers in hand.

Her blue eyes gazed into his cerulean irises covered a bit by blonde wisps of hair. She smiled, grabbing the tickets gently.

"I'm in."

A loud uproar of shouts, hollers, and cheers echoed throughout the room from the gang crammed in the tight stairwell.

Serah and Snow spun around as fast as lightning, surprised to see all their friends behind them, squished together. A light, rosy tint spread across their cheeks.

Then, realizing that they were not in fact supposed to be eavesdropping, the group began to franticly push and shove until they simply tumbled down the stairs, crying out as they did so. A large boom shook the house.

Serah and Snow rushed to the stairs and looked down. There, crushed, smooshed, and sprawled out was the rest of the gang, smiling with embarrassment.

Serah's body began to shake uncontrollably. Confused, Snow looked at the girl with worry in his eyes,

"Serah?"

Then she burst out laughing. At first, she was the only one laughing in the room as tears threatened to leak from her crystal blue eyes, then the rest of the gang soon joined in, filling the entire room with sweet laughter.

Vincent finished setting the table as he heard the merriment from down the hallway. Stepping back from the table, the man quietly grinned to himself before gazing out at the ocean through the fogged over kitchen window.

In the living room, pictures still scattered everywhere, Fang was leaning against a wall, arms crossed, holding a picture in one raised hand. She stared solemnly at the two figures in the photo: a tan girl with wild, raven hair, a tattoo up her arm and emerald eyes—her arm draped over the person next to her, and a great, toothy smile spread across her face as she stood with a board under her other arm; and beside her, a fair-skinned girl with a soft grin held her own board, her electric blue hair cascading over her shoulder.

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><p><strong>SO MANY FEELS<strong>

Alright! There ya have it!

Also, the DDR scene was inspired by my most recent group date where we all did in fact have a gender-wars on DDR. Girls won WHOOP WHOOP ;D

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I promise I'll update on a more regular basis.

Until next time... :3


	13. Chapter 13

A boomboomboom let me hear you say WAYHOO! **WAYHOOOOOOOOOO!** How is everybody?! I missed you crazy people :D

I apologize for being absent on the site, but I've been traveling a lot and filling out college forms. I just got back from my week long trip to Aruba yesterday, and now I am going to an orientation about my three week backpacking trip through England! YIPES! I have a lot to do before then. Anyway, I just want to warn you all that I will not be able to write while on my England excursion.

I am, however, almost finished with BIG chapter updates for _**I'd Give Anythin****g**_, _**To Save A Hero**_, and _**Spectrum of a Hundred**** Emotions**_. Expect them before Thursday! :D

..._Wow_. I can't believe we're finally here. I never ever thought this story would become such a big part of my life. It's a passion. And I know it's a little bizarre to call a _fanfiction_ a passion, but it is! And I love everything about it, especially my readers. I can't believe all of YOU guys are still reading it hehe~ Thanks, everyone. You keep me going, and without fanfiction, I'm not sure I would be where I am today.

_Thank you._

So here we are, chapter XIII. Here it is, and I hope you enjoy it :)

_**DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy and its property, characters, and themes all belong to SE! I only own my story and OC's. Hawai'i owns itself. DDR owns itself. I am writing this story for the entertainment of readers. I do not make any money from it.**_

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><p><em>Chapter XIII: The Final Day<em>

"We're back!"

To celebrate Serah's mini initiation into the gang, the girls had all gone out shopping for the Open. Fang tried to get out of the too-girly event, but was harassed and dragged along by a very sweet and pleading Vanille.

Large rectangular bags with brand names printed on them adorned the girls' arms like coat hangers on a rack, each filled with colorful bikini's surfing equipment and fashionable beach attire.

Vanille walked in making a funny face at Serah, in the middle of telling her a silly story, which caused the pinkette to giggle loudly.

"Seriously, do you all, like, try on every single item in the store? We thought you'd never come back." Reno chimed with a groan, sticking his tongue out at Fang before winking at Vanille.

Fang brushed his remark off with an annoyed wave of the hand. Vanille giggled cutely, her green eyes glowing.

Serah shook herself like a dog, rain sprinkled all over her soft skin and clothes. Her hair was soaked, and a shower was definitely on her to-do list later that day. She dropped her bags gently by the main doorway and then shed her water-coated covering, a varsity jacket Snow had lent her.

After looking through what people had bought—the girls looking at the clothing, the boys examining the surfing and water-work equipment—everyone had settled in the picture-covered living room. From couch to ottoman, from window to wall, photographs were scattered along every inch of either wood or fabric. Serah sat on the couch with Hope and Vanille listening to the plethora of stories each photo held within its printed soul. Hope would try and fill the young girl in on new faces and surfers she was either going to meet in Newcastle or _needed_ to meet in life.

With the kids on the couch, Gadot stood, looking through black and white, some sepia, photographs. Lebreau sat on the arm of the chair that Yuj was sitting in. Maqui was on the floor with Reno sorting through cardboard boxes for familiar pictures, and Snow was perched on an ottoman next to the couch—near Serah. Fang sat on the floor against the glass doors that led out to the porch, a position with the perfect view of everyone, and Vincent stood a few feet away.

Everyone was situated in an oval-esque shape so that no one was out of focus. Everyone was a part of the group.

Gadot held up a photo of him and another dark-skinned, big haired man.

"That was me back at the Victoria Nationals years ago," he pointed at the guy he was shoulder to shoulder with, "Met Machado* on the beach—nearly lost my the color in my face when I saw him. Man what a real guy. Dude knows how to live."

"Guy can surf, that's for sure," Snow chimed in, grinning. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone rip curl like him."

The men in the room all nodded in agreement, even Vincent, leaning against the back wall near Fang, grunted his approval.

"Oh! Oh! Fang, tell'em about the time when you met Hamilton**!" Vanille squealed, her accent enunciated with her high pitched voice.

Fang snorted and smirked as eyes turned towards her. Some, who knew the story, continued to look through picture with smiles on their faces; the others all gasped and subconsciously leaned towards the tan, Australian sheila.

"No way—" Hope drawled, his mouth agape.

Serah's eyes widened and a huge smile appeared on her face,

"That's incredible! Where'd you meet her?" she said.

Snow turned to look at her, impressed that she knew a 'surfing celeb'.

Fang noticed this too, an eyebrow raised in amusement. She leaned her head back and rested her hand on her knee,

"I was a bartender last summer back in Bendigo, and business was a ball during the competition season. She came in one day with a couple of friends and I pretended not to really notice—them celebrities like their space, yea'?" she asked to no one in particular.

Serah crossed her legs and got comfortable as she listened to Fang's story.

Fang leaned forward, using her hands to help give the story more life, as if she was still tending the bar that very day, "She asked for a red rocker, dry of course, gal wasn't old enough yet to drink. And after I got her and her pack-a sheila's their drinks I casually asked how the wind was rocking on the waves."

Vanille jumped in with a wide smile on her face,

"The girl gasped and absolutely flipped when she recognized Fang."

Fang smirked—remembering the moment vividly.

Serah laughed before Vanille's words sunk in.

'_Recognized?' _she thought.

"I was surprised she even knew this ol' mug." Fang laughed as she stretched out her legs.

"Fang. You're only twenty-one. Quit calling yourself 'old'." Snow gave the tan woman a sympathetic stare, only earning himself a friendly glare from the Australian.

The sound of ripping tape scratched through the air as Reno tore open another cardboard box.

"They ended up exchanging autographs. Ya ever heard of such a thing?" Vanille smiled as everyone laughed in response.

Serah was dumbstruck. She didn't know what to think, and she started to feel nervous. Her eyes lowered as she realized how little she knew about her newfound friends. _Just who were they?_

XXX

_***Stacks by Bon Iver_

"You're serious?"

Lightning continued to clean a cup out over the sink, rubbing the old, raggedy cloth harshly against the glass surface. She ignored the inquiry as the squeak of her cleaning repeated with every scrub.

Sazh, with hands on hips, stared at the woman with a surprised and amused look on his face. He let out a laugh of disbelief as he raised one hand directing it towards her.

"Like, you're seriously going to go along with this?"

Lightning placed the drink in the sink and turned around. Her ice blue eyes glared softly at the older man as she walked past him, still dismissing his questioning.

Sazh followed her with his eyes, turning his body ever so slightly. A smile plastered on his face like a statue. He threw both hands up in the air in defeat, mumbling things like "Okay, okay." and "Alright, ya know, it's your business. Your business, I know—"

He stepped forward a few steps in the direction of the counter. His shoes tapped the sandy, hardwood floor as they walked, but suddenly the tapping silenced. Sazh stopped, sighing.

"Seriously?!" he rose his voice as he spun around to look at the pinkette, who groaned at his infernal questioning.

Setting the cloth down, she turned around to face her boss.

"_Yes_, Sazh. He asked me and I said yes."

Sazh placed his hand on his forehead, massaging his brows with his index and thumb.

"Farron—Lightning, girl, listen. At least hear me out." He said as he paced towards her.

Crossing her arms, Lightning stood patiently, shifting her weight a bit.

The man stopped in front of her, taking a deep, calming breath.

"Are you crazy?!" he shouted in her face.

The woman hissed as she held her left ear, which pounded like crazy from the volume of her friend's voice. Inhaling, Light crossed her arms again,

"Sazh. I'm going. I know, it's…different, but I already agreed. Besides," she walked over to the hut's entrance. "I have plenty of vacation days."

"That's exactly my point! You don't go anywhere. You haven't used one day since you started working here. Couldn't you use'em and go _somewhere_ _else_?!"

Lightning grabbed her coat from the rusty hanger and gracefully pushed her arm through one of the sleeves. Sazh realized he was being ignored, a position he was actually used to after knowing the girl for so long. He sighed. He knew he couldn't change her mind.

The sound of the rain pattering on the palm-branch roof increased in volume, and the sky only got darker above the silver ocean. Lightning pulled her baseball hat over her head to protect her from the rain, the cap creating a blue-grey shadow over her eyes.

Sazh scratched his afro, shaking his head.

"Not that I disapprove of the guy—I actually like spikey. I think he'll do ya some good."

"His name's Cloud." Lightning corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, soon it'll be sweetie or _snookums_."

"SAZH."

XXX

_***You and I by Ingrid Michaelson (Acoustic Version)_

_***Mister Lies by False Astronomy_

Gulls cried out as they took to the sky high above. The sand was moist and sticky like clay from the wet showers, and the palm leaves of the beach trees blew gently in the coastal breeze. The rain had finally ceased at around six o'clock. The sun was lowering towards the calm ocean waves kissing the horizon. It's flaming, orange rays stained the island, and the ocean waters began to recede from the shore.

The squishy sand oozed between her toes as she pressed them down deeper. Coolness swept over her skin, sending a chill up her spine.

"Why did Bethany Hamilton recognize Fang?" Serah asked, looking down at the incoming water washing over her feet. "I mean, she doesn't seem like a celebrity. Is she?"

Snow towered above the pinkette, but his large appearance was no longer daunting to Serah. He seemed more like a protective bear if not anything else. The girl smiled at the thought.

"Well," Snow exhaled. "She's not really famous in the usual line of fame, but she was a seriously talented surfer. Well heard of by locals and high-riding surfers."

A larger wave crashed against the rocky coast about a mile ahead of them, echoing in the evening air. The nervousness the two once felt around each other—pre-jitters and excitement—was gently tucked in by the relaxing atmosphere. They both felt at ease with each other's presence, though by tomorrow afternoon on the plane ride to Australia, the jitters would return no doubt.. Snow continued, his voice gruff but calm.

"She was known for her tubing and ability to speed through small A-frames. She was really something, especially at such a young age."

He grinned. Probably due to the fact that he respected Fang immensely, even though she did terrify him at times. Serah noticed and smiled too, but the expression faded instantly. She noted the constant use of the word 'was', and felt a bit troubled. Snow wasn't including something—something clearly important to the story of the talented ozzie woman. An image of Fang's tattoo seeped into Serah's mind, though she couldn't pin down why.

"Why are you saying everything in the past tense?" Serah asked.

Sighing heavily, the blonde broski lifted his hands and them let them drop to his sides. The two continued to walk.

"I probably shouldn't talk about it. Fang still isn't…comfortable with the whole thing."

Silence overcame them. Neither knew what to say, but it wasn't a completely uncomfortable silence. Snow didn't want to hide things from Serah, but he still wanted to protect his friend's privacy; Serah desperately wished to know about Fang's past, but she didn't want to pry. But the desire shook her too much.

Another wave crashed against the rocky coast that was now inches closer to the two. Serah fiddled with her fingers, looking down at her feet as they made footprints in the wet sand.

"…Does it have to do with _Electric_ _Blue_?"

Snow slowly scratched the back of his neck, looking at the sky and then at Serah.

"Yeah, a little. But mostly it has to do with herself."

Suddenly, the sound of a person's feet hitting sand approached. The two surfers looked up to see someone jogging towards them. Not a frantic, urgent pace, but definitely a run at an impressive speed.

Snow and Serah noticed the intensity of the stride and stepped aside a bit to let the runner through.

As the person came closer, Serah seemed to notice something about him….or her? It was definitely a girl, Serah thought as the figure became more defined up close…and by Snow's obvious staring. But there was something about the jogger that caused her to squint her light blue eyes.

With a baseball cap and dark blue jacket, the runner ran past the two without sparing a second glance. Serah followed the runner with her eyes, even turning around to watch the girl run down the coast.

'_Man, she looks familiar…'_

Snow rose an eyebrow and smirked,

"She seems like your type."

Serah turned bright red and clenched her fists, "Wha—what? No, it's not like that—"

She looked up at him with both a pleading and frustrated face. Snow wasn't convinced and piut his hands in his pockets as he continued to walk with a huge grin plastered on his face. Serah puffed out her cheeks, and pouted like a child.

"_I thought I recognized her._" She spoke slowly, pointing at the jogger now almost half a mile away.

"Sure. Sure you did."

Serah groaned loudly. She punched the man in the arm causing him to wince.

"Jerk."

"Geez, you've got a punch." Snow laughed gently rubbing the impact spot.

Serah frowned, crossing her arms as she sped up, walking past Snow. She continued to walk before she was suddenly lifted into the air causing the girl to gasp.

"Unff! What are you—Snow!" She cried out.

Snow's arms wrapped around her waist, he hoisted her over his shoulder. She beat against his shoulder blades as he laughed and cooed like a gull.

"Put me down! I'm still mad at you."

"Lighten up, you're a surfer now!"

Snow continued to laugh as he spun around with Serah still in his grasp, whose shouts and smacks turned into giggling and whoops of joy. The laughter of the two travelled down the coast, entering the jogger's ears.

Her pink hair bouncing on her shoulders as she ran, she breathed with intent, in through her nose and out through her mouth. Sweat beading down her forehead. She slowed to a stop and pulled out an ear bud, the ringing of laughter catching her attention. She bent over and rested her hands on her knees, her eyes squinting in the direction of mirth.

"That laugh sounds…familiar…"

After she caught her breath, Lightning shrugged it off and put the black bud back into her ear and continued down the coast. The lapping waves of the dark ocean swallowed the sun whole, giving room for the stars to blink awake into the night sky.

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><p>YAMS! I hope you all enjoyed it!<p>

R&R and have a lovely holiday :)

_Until Next Time... :3_


	14. Chapter 14

Hello fellow readers! I want to apologize for the long hiatus, but I think it was needed... I won't go into depth about everything and waste time saying sorry a million times over (which is what you all deserve), but if you're wondering what's been up-check my profile.

**I have a question for you all. Does anyone still read this? I have always loved this story so much, it's one of my babies, but with college, my schedule, and my professional writing career now actually picking up- I don't have much time to write for this site. I mainly use it to give you guys updates on the stories you've been following, and to practice writing. I hate leaving stories unfinished, but if I don't get enough requests to finish then I'm going to put this one to rest. I don't usually write JUST for publicity sake, but I just don't have time :/.**

**SO. Let me know! Send me a message, review, whatever floats ya boat.**

I'm really sorry guys... *wipes tear*

BUT I am still writing for most of my other stories AND I have started a new, rather mature story if you all are interested. It's called _Hunting Season_. It's a House MD fanfic, so check it out if you watch the show (if you haven't WATCH IT NOW. IT'S AMAZING).

Again, thank you all for your patience. I mean it-it's been rough, but you guys have been nothing but supportive and kind to me. Thank you.

Love you all to death. And without further ado, here is a lil' update to go with this message. This is basically the inbetween of this story and we are moving into PART II of _Electric Blue._

_Have a good day, guys! =)_

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><p><em>Chapter XIV: Interlude<em>

The kitchen was dark. The older, pink-haired sister had just showered after her run home from work, and was now leaning against the kitchen counter. Her damp hair settled over one shoulder, wetting the dark blue sweater she was wearing. There were little white pine trees stitched across the middle of the sweater all the way around, and the tips of the sleeves were white. The island was always pretty warm this time of year, but at night, brisk winds caused the air to be a bit frigid, so she had thrown on a rather comfy top.

Her icy, blue eyes seemed to glow in the shadowy room. She didn't particularly like standing in the dark, but she was about to go to bed soon and was too lazy to light a candle or two (she had never much cared for the artificial lights hanging in the kitchen).

Crossing her arms, she sighed heavily before looking at the fridge across from her.

There it was. That ugly, red circle drawn on her calendar. The word, "REUNION", was written in it on a certain date.

Lightning flinched. The date was coming up.

She gritted her teeth as she angrily leaned forward and opened the fridge. She grabbed the big tub of chocolate pudding and then grabbed a spoon from a drawer. She shut the fridge and leaned back against the counter again. She shoved a spoonful of the delicious cocoa dessert in her mouth.

"Man, I could go for some strawberry pudding right now." She said with her mouth full before swallowing.

She stared at the red ink again and suddenly felt a pinch scared.

Then she looked down at the half-empty tub of pudding,

"No offense." She humorously stated—hoping the dessert wasn't hurt by her pudding preference.

The attempt at humor didn't make her feel any better, though.

She was leaving tomorrow. She was leaving tomorrow with a man she barely knew, and to make matters worse she was going back to Australia. Back to New Castle, which was unfortunately very close to_ Oerba Beach_—where the reunion was.

She slowly slid down against the wooden counter until she sat on the cold floor. She held the tub in her arms and pulled her knees up.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered hoarsely.


End file.
